Lilium Stargazer
by WrittenAnonymous
Summary: "Lily," he said, tracing a flower in the air with his index finger. "Like the Lilium Stargazer." Lily stared at him blankly for a long moment. "The what?" she finally asked. "The loveliest kind of lily there is," Scorpius responded.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter One:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily flicked the curtains over the sink shut for what seemed like the thirtieth time in the past hour, hiding the now completely dark sky once again. She pulled on the hideous yellow rubber gloves that her Aunt Hermione kept in cabinet below the white porcelain sink and began scrubbing the dishes that were concealed underneath the scalding water.

It had been three weeks since she had seen her parents and her most beloved aunt and uncle. They had left on a raid on Halloween night, claiming that a new clan of Death Eaters had been reported in Bulgaria. She had not heard from them since. It was not unusual for her mother, father, aunt, and uncle to leave for weeks at a time without sending words pertaining to their wellbeing, but that did not make it any less nerve wracking for her and her siblings and cousins. Tonight, Lily was particularly anxious because her brothers had turned on the small radio placed in the dining room and had almost immediately heard that a number of aurors had been killed in a massive battle against Death Eaters in London.

Though her family had left for Bulgaria, that did not mean that they stayed there. Three weeks was a long time, and in that time, they could have easily ended up in London. At the mere thought of her parents and aunt and uncle being in London during the time of the massacre, she began to shake. The plate she had been scrubbing in the sink splashed back down into the water, clanking against other dishes loudly. Water slopped on the floor and she cursed herself for only being fifteen and unable to use magic to clean it up.

It was when she was on the floor sopping up the mess that her brothers - James and Albus - entered the kitchen. They were unusually solemn. Albus said nothing as he leaned against the island across from the sink and James leaned down and helped Lily clean up the mess, not bothering to use his wand which was surely stowed away in his back pocket. Once they were finished, James helped her to her feet. She stared at her brother for a long time before finally asking, "No word from them?"

"None," Albus said gruffly, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. Albus looked like their father - black hair, green eyes - with touches of their mother here and there, like her long, slim fingers and her upturned nose. James and Albus were basically spitting images of each other, aside from the fact that James had more attributes of their mother. Their mother's brown eyes and her more olive skin tone made James only slightly different from Albus. Their father said that he looked like their grandfather, who was also James's namesake.

"They won't make and appearance here tonight, I suspect," James said, leaning around Lily and opening the curtains to peer out before pulling them back into place. James and Albus held a small grudge against their parents every time they left and didn't allow them to go with them. They had perfectly good reason to be upset - they were of age after all, James being eighteen and Albus being seventeen - but out of respect for Harry and Ginny, they did not make a fuss. Plus, they probably knew that if they left Lily would be completely alone at the manor they stayed at aside from her cousins and-

Suddenly, a haunting tune played on a piano began to sound throughout the giant mansion.

Albus cringed. "Scorpius is feeling rather… _unsettled _tonight."

The Malfoy family also resided in the manor, though they had not always. One of the first memories Lily could collect was the night Draco Malfoy had shown up at the manor, begging her father to find his wife and son. They had been taken captive by Death Eaters, and the only person Draco knew who could get them back was Harry Potter. There was an uproar from the residents at the manor, but Harry was calm and courteous, claiming he would find the two missing Malfoys and bring them back there. He and Draco left the manor at once.

Lily's father's promise fell through, though it was not his fault. Once they had found the Death Eaters who had taken Scorpius and Astoria, it became apparent from the bloody, mangled body on the ground that Astoria had been murdered. Scorpius - only four at the time - was huddled in a corner of the now-abandoned shack, his shirt and pants stained with his mother's blood.

When Draco and Harry had brought him back to the manor, Lily was sitting in her mother's lap, her eyes drooping shut in exhaustion. Ginny had stood up so fast she had nearly knocked Lily on the ground. Someone might expect that Scorpius would be in his father's arms, his face hidden in the crook of his neck. But he stood tall - or as tall as a four year old could be - beside Harry and Draco, his face an expression of something someone his age should never wear on his face.

Lily had always assumed that having watched his mother be murdered at such a young age was what made Scorpius so strange. He had an odd sense of humor that nobody understood; a bizarre sort of humor that made Lily wonder if Scorpius even understood it himself. Sometimes he spoke of things that made Lily wonder where he had even learned it, since they were taught at the manor by an ancient, completely crazy live-in tutor - Maverick Hawk, who Scorpius had a strange fondness of - since Hogwarts had been shut down when the Death War had began. Scorpius always had a vague explanation for things that the adults questioned, but the honesty showed in his eyes, so they never had any suspicions.

There were periods of time when Scorpius would disappear into his bedroom for days on end, the only sounds ever leaving his bedroom were loud bangs from only Merlin knew what. Lily guessed he was having a fit - throwing furniture around or something. Whenever this happened, Draco would apologize sheepishly, but everyone knew that when Scorpius got that way, nobody could do anything about it.

The only people who _might _know what went on in Scorpius's mind was Lily's cousin, Rose, and Albus, but the two would never say. Their friendship was an unusual one, more out of convience than anything else. Lily, herself, rarely spoke to Scorpius unless it was, "Can you pass the peas?" at dinner or telling him where Albus was when he asked. Lily was completely fine with the non-existent relationship she had with Scorpius. She hated to admit it, but his behavior creeped her out a little. His strangeness was not something she wanted to delve into.

That was everything Scorpius was - strange.

"Well," Lily sighed, finally responding to Albus's previous comment. "We're all a little unsettled tonight, aren't we?" The chilling music continued to float throughout the manor. All of the children living in the manor - James, Albus, Scorpius, Rose, Hugo, and Lily - had all been forced to learn an instrument by Hawk, their tutor. Scorpius had taken up the piano, and was particularly talented at it. James had the violin because his mother thought it was pretty, Albus had taken up the oboe because he thought the name sounded funny, Rose with the flute, Hugo with the trumpet, and Lily had taken up the clarinet. Nobody played their instruments anymore aside from Scorpius. It was an odd day at the manor when Scorpius had not sat down at his piano to play at least once.

"I suppose you're right," James answered for Albus, taking Lily by the elbow. "Come on, Lils," he said softly. "You've been alone a lot today. Come up to the tower with us." Lily rarely went to the tower with her brothers, mainly because they were not supposed to go outside when her parents were on a raid. But, also because it was where her brothers went when they were having "brotherly bonding time," Rose called it. Albus and James were nearly inseparable, only apart when Albus was with Rose and Scorpius or in tutoring.

"I need to clean," Lily protested. "We have made a huge mess over the past three weeks and-"

"Bullocks," Albus said, ushering Lily and James out the kitchen door. "You shouldn't be alone so much. It's not healthy." As she and her brother passed a mirror hung on a wall, Lily caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She _did _look rather ill. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe Albus was right… Maybe she didn'tget enough human interaction. She surveyed her pale, freckled skin and her big brown eyes. She looked more like her mother than either of her siblings did. She was small, unusually so, with delicate features and long, straight auburn hair. She supposed she _was _half Weasley, so of course she would get ginger hair. Most of the time, she wished she had her father's black hair just so she would be a little bit unusual from her massive family, like her brothers were.

But, it did not matter. She did not have anybody to impress here, stuck in the giant manor her father had managed to ward so efficiently that they had never once been attacked by Death Eaters. With the wards, not even the nicest of wizards would be able to find her here and sweep her off her feet. The only time she saw people other than the residents of the manor was around Christmas time when the entire group of Weasleys and Lupins came to celebrate the what was supposed to be the cheery holiday season.

Lily and her brothers made their way through the giant mansion, Scorpius's piano music slowly get louder as they approached the music room. The tune was getting progressively more dark as Scorpius continued playing. Lily shivered as James muttered, "He sure can make a place feel happy, can't he?"

At that point, they had gotten to the music room. As they had passed, Lily peered through the crack in the door to see Scorpius's long, lanky figure placed at the piano, his body tensing up at the more extreme parts of the piece and then relaxing when the notes became lighter. When James had spoke, Lily had just looked away, sure Scorpius would not have been able to hear her brother over his playing. But, a clutter of keys clanged together loudly in a rather angry fashion as he came to a sudden stop.

By now, Lily and her brothers were going up the stairs that led up to the tower. Once they had opened the door and stepped out into the ice cold November air, Lily regretted coming with her brothers almost instantly. The night sky was as dreary as ever, the clouds hanging low, the only source of light being the faint glow of the moon behind the fog. "Where's Rose?" Lily wondered. Rose was usually hanging around with Albus, if not with Scorpius.

Albus shrugged. "Don't know, don't really care. She cries too much when her parents are gone."

"Ah," Lily said sadly, leaning against the ledge of the tower, picking at a thread on her dress.

"Poor Hugo," James said, grinning emotionlessly. "He get's the brunt of it, doesn't he?"

The three siblings laughed lightly as a cold breeze swirled around them. A sudden squawk of a night bird sounded throughout the forest surrounding the manor, silencing them. The harsh sound seemed to remind them all of the thought that always hung in their mind. Where were their parents? Were they okay?

"Do you think…?" Lily trailed off, knowing the answer before she had to finish. Her brothers did not know if her parents were okay any more than she did. They were as helpless as Lily was, barely finding a way to get through the days. All of the children in the manor had different ways of coping with their parents absence. When they were gone for a long time, everyone seemed to isolate themselves to their own coping methods. Lily was known to clean. James and Albus seemed to lean on each other for support while their parents were gone. Rose shut herself way in her room, probably reading or crying or doing other things that she did best. Hugo stayed in the basement, toying with muggle objects. Scorpius had a couple different ways of coping - all of those ways being very loud or involving alcohol. Either playing his piano, banging around in his bedroom, or getting drunk off his ass from the hard muggle liquor or firewhisky that was kept in the pantry.

"They'll be home soon," Albus said, partially to himself. "They'll be home soon…"

"I wonder who the aurors were who were killed tonight," James said to no one in particular. "Do you think we knew them?"

"More than likely," Albus answered. "Dad's surely introduced us to them before. I just hope it wasn't someone _too _important to the Ministry." Though the Ministry was in shambles, it still had a loose form. Kingsley Shacklebolt was the Minister, probably the greatest Minister in history for being able to keep the Ministry intact. Lily's father, Harry, was Head of the Auror's Office, and when he wasn't off on a raid, he was usually at the Ministry planning them. Most witches and wizards were drafted to fight in the Death War, not having a choice in the profession they went in to. There were so many people being killed that there was hardly enough aurors to protect the ones left.

Albus and James sighed in synchronization, only grinning half heartedly at one another when they realized what they had done. Their solemnity really _was _unusual, though understandable. The two brothers were normally always teasing in a fashion that would make their grandmother gasp. Perverted jokes seemed to be their specialty. Then, once they got Scorpius in on it, the three of them could easily write a book of X-rated sex jokes and references.

"I don't care if they were important or not," Lily said softly. "I'd rather nobody died at all-"

The door leading back into the manor burst open and out stalked Scorpius. It was so sudden that Lily jumped, but Albus grinned lazily, the spark of his usual self seeming to dance in his eyes. Scorpius and Albus being nearly the exact same age - only three days apart - had been forced together during their time at the manor, eventually becoming best friends. Though, as Lily thought previously, it seemed more out of convince than anything else.

Scorpius returned Albus's grin, though his expression differed from the one Albus wore. The forever prominent glint of wicked amusement shown in his silver-gray eyes as he smirked and placed himself on the thick ledge of the tower. He laid back slowly, one arm dangling off the side. Lily resisted the urge to tell him to stand up, that if he fell over the side he would surely meet his death. Without saying a word, he lifted his hand and began twirling a piece of overgrown, platinum blond hair between his slender fingers.

Scorpius's golden looks were always tinged with a roughness that Lily could never explain. The boy had lived in a confined manor, which he could hardly ever leave, after all. She had no clue how he managed to look like the ultimate predator of a forest. His jagged hair was always over-grown, yet chopped unevenly where some fell into his face and some stuck up in different directions. It was like he took a knife to it and slashed at it to keep it from getting more unruly than it already was. His sharp features and almond shaped eyes defined his face entirely, the only delicate parts being his thin blonde eyebrows and soft lips.

"Scorpius," James said, nodding toward him.

"You interrupted my song, Potter," Scorpius accused indolently, his eyes drooping shut, one eyebrow raised. "I don't interrupt _your _songs."

James rolled his eyes, tugging at his coat. "You call that a _song? _I thought that was a funeral hymn."

"It was."

There was an uncomfortable silence before Albus cleared his throat, and said, "Did you need something, Scorp? You hardly ever come out here to simply _hang out._"

At this point, Lily tuned them out, looking up just in time to see the clouds break apart. The stars shown through now, and it brought Lily back to a simpler time - or what she had thought was a simpler time; it was really only when she was too young to understand the complexity of the Death War - when her father would take her out in the back courtyard to look at the stars when she couldn't sleep, and tell her stories about the small wizarding town of Diagon Alley, now taken over almost completely by Death Eaters, or how great the feasts were at Hogwarts, the beautiful school Lily and her brothers would never know. He never spoke to his youngest child of anything negative. Harry kept Lily safe in only a way a father could.

He never spoke of his defeat of Voldemort, or his shock and devastation when the left over Death Eaters formed an army. Of course, they weren't nearly as powerful as they were when Voldemort had been alive, but with as many of them as there were, they might as well have been. The unspoken leader of the Death Eaters was a man named Jester Shroudrouge, with his son, Andre, as his heir. Shroudrouge didn't have advantages as Voldemort did, but his whereabouts were unknown, making him about as dangerous. "The Masked Murderer" was what he was known as, for nobody had ever seen his face, not even Harry. Nobody even knew that Shroudrouge existed until a few years prior, when the Ministry had taken a Death Eater captive and tortured it out him - not one of the Ministry's finest moments, to say the least. The Death Eater died before he could say where his leader was.

The Death War was a complex thing. Harry himself couldn't even explain it completely.

Suddenly, five cracks sounded throughout the air, one after another. Then… three more.

Lily nearly jumped out of her skin at the sounds as her brothers ran to ledge to look over at the ground. Even Scorpius bolted upright, having to grab onto the wall to keep himself from falling. Lily scurried over to the side, and nearly wept in relief when she peered over.

Her mother, father, aunt, and uncle were walking up the front path, with Draco Malfoy on their heels. Though their clothes were dirtied and torn, they looked as if they were in one piece. Trailing behind them were four more familiar forms. Teddy Lupin - someone Lily basically thought of as another older brother - and his wife, Victoire, with her siblings Dominique and Louis Weasley. Victoire, Dominique, and Louis were three of Lily's cousins that she only ever saw on Christmas. It was odd that they were there, and even odder that their parents were not with them.

Without a word, Lily, her brothers, and Scorpius were practically sprinting down the tower stairs, past the music room, and back to the first floor where they'd meet their family at the foyer. Their feet pounding on the stone floor must have alerted Rose - who was in her room - that something was happening. She burst out of her room, flaming red hair wild, and one look at her cousins told her that her parents were home.

Once they were on the ground floor, it only took milliseconds for them to fly into their parents arms. Even James, the eldest of the children at the manor, was clinging to his mother for dear life. Albus, usually a man's man, was swallowing back tears as Ginny pulled him to her and crushed him against herself and her first son.

Lily was the first to come in contact with her father, tears spilling down her cheeks as soon as his arms encircled her. She didn't know what was going on around her or how the others were reacting or why her cousins and Teddy were at the manor, only that her mother and father were home, and at least for tonight, they were all completely safe.

**A/N:**

**Two usual rules apply: **

**1. I don't know if this will go anywhere, so go along with it.**

**2. YES. This first chapter was boring. The first chapter is **_**always **_**boring.**

**I know what you're thinking. "Jesus, Anonymous, **_**another **_**new story? You hardly got started with the last one." I fully intend to finish Bound to Repeat someday. I haven't abandoned it. I just need time to write it, which I don't have. This story - which can easily be made up as I go along - is a story that I have time to write because it's not as interwoven with the book series as Bound to Repeat is. **

**I don't want you guys to think I'm just another author who will leave you hanging. I **_**know **_**this story is different from my other ones (I changed up the end of the books, etc, etc, etc, which is something I have never done before) but I think it can grow into something eventually.**

**I was going to do two other characters - but you guys know me. I love Scorpius too much to abandon him. Figured Lily would be a nice change for Rose. I know some of you are strictly Scorose readers, which is why you read my stuff… But give Scorpius/Lily a chance for me, pretty please? **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Two:**

**Lily Potter II:**

The manor seemed to come alive instantly. The drab and dreary home that the children shared when their parents was almost immediately seemed lighter and happier than it had in weeks. They had gone into the den to catch up and to light a fire, but Lily knew in the back of her mind that the happiness of having her parents back would plummet back into anxiety. It would not be long before her parents spoke to Lily and the rest of the children about the dead aurors and revealed the date of their next raid. But, until then, Lily would enjoy being in such close proximity to her parents.

She sat on one of the two sofas, her head resting on her mother's shoulder. She took a moment to survey the room, smiling when she saw that Albus and James were back to their usual bickering, their father joining in occasionally. Rose was speaking to her mother, who had asked her what she had learned from Hawk during their time away. Rose and Hermione always had one thing to talk about, if nothing else - books or education. Hugo was exclaiming excitedly about some muggle object his father had managed to bring back to him. Then… there was Scorpius.

He sat on the sofa opposite from Lily and Ginny, speaking quietly with his father. When Draco was around, Scorpius was nothing like he usually was. His back was straight as a board as he quietly asked Draco if he needed anything. "Father, can I get you a glass of water? Are you hungry?" Over the years, Scorpius had made himself a sort of slave to Draco. Draco never demanded anything of him, and rarely accepted when Scorpius asked to do something for him.

But when Draco _did _ask Scorpius to do something - usually pertaining to Scorpius's wellbeing, like keeping up in his studies or remaining vigilant, incase the manor was ever to be attacked - Scorpius obeyed completely. In their schooling, Scorpius had the best marks. If there was a bump in the night, the first person out of bed with his wand ready was Scorpius.

Scorpius and Draco's relationship confused Lily. It _was _a father-son relationship in a way, but no where close to the relationship that James and Albus shared with Harry. Lily often wondered if it was because they were purebloods, but would disregard the assumption quickly. It was something more than that, something more than blood-status… It almost seemed as if Scorpius were in debt to his father. The way he spoke to Draco and of Draco could easily be solid proof.

"Dad," Albus said, his voice slicing into Lily's thoughts. "Why is Teddy here?"

The silent question had hung in the air since everyone had returned. Once the majority had went into the den, Teddy had whispered something to Harry, who nodded understandingly. With that, Teddy had taken Victoire, Dominique, and Louis upstairs. The devastation on Victoire, Dominique, and Louis's faces was as clear as day.

Harry rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb before pushing his glasses back up his nose. "There was a group of aurors in London," he began, and he might as well have not continued. Realization seemed to dawn on all of the children at once. Nonetheless, Harry continued. "Fleur and Bill were killed."

There was a moment of silence. Hermione clasped Ron's hand comfortingly as Rose began to cry. Hugo looked shocked, his smile from speaking to his father falling. Lily glanced up at her mother, aghast to see that Ginny was swallowing back tears. Ginny rarely cried. The only time Lily had ever seen her mother cry was when she was eleven, Albus was thirteen, and James was fourteen. The adults returned from a raid to find Albus on his death bed with a horrible case pneumonia, horrified with herself for not being there to take care of him. Needless to say, Albus had survived, but their mother's tears still haunted the Potter children to that day.

"Oh no," Rose said softly, wiping tears away from her cheeks. "What's going to happen now?"

"Well, dear," Hermione said softly, tucking a lock of Rose's hair behind her ear. "The home that your cousins resided in no longer has a legal set of guardians, so Dominique and Louis are going to stay here for awhile."

"What about Teddy and Victoire?" James asked his father. "Couldn't they have take responsibility for their house?" Lily vaguely remembered visiting her Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's house. She was only three at the time, having gone there when Hawk was away and couldn't look after her and the rest of the children when her parents went on a raid. The house was tiny - nothing like the manor, though shielded with the same unbreakable wards.

"Ron and Hermione are listed as the legal guardians if anything were to happen to Bill and Fleur," Harry answered. "Plus, it would not be wise to keep them in that house alone without someone to look after them. Teddy and Victoire go on raids with us regularly, and we can not take willing aurors away from the fight to look after children." Harry did not say it unkindly, firmly at the least. He turned to Ginny, who sighed and stood up after patting Lily's hand.

"It's late," Ginny said, looking around the room. "It is probably best that we all get to bed."

"I need to go to talk to Dominique-" Rose started, but her mother placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let them be for tonight, Rose," Hermione said quietly. "It is probably best that we leave them alone tonight." Rose began to protest, but the steely look her mother gave her silenced her. Knowing Rose, she'd go anyway. Dominique and Rose had been best friends ever since they were little and the memory of being excluded by the two of them was clear in Lily's mind. Dominique and Rose didn't see each other often - twice a year at most - but when they were together, it was as if they were never apart.

Lily stood up, suddenly thinking that her mother's suggestion of going to bed was a great idea. At this point, everyone was standing up and saying good night to each other. Lily hugged her parents, then her aunt and uncle, and even politely said good night to Draco. "Goodnight, Mr. Malfoy," she said sweetly, and though Draco looked surprised, he nodded, wishing her a goodnight as well. Scorpius stood by his side, still looking stiff as a board, saying nothing.

His behavior around his father in contrast to his behavior around Albus, James, and Rose really _was _odd, but Lily supposed that it wasn't odd for Scorpius. Lily dismissed it, and left the den after hugging her parents goodnight once more.

After washing her face and changing into her pajamas, Lily crawled into her bed.

But sleep would not come. There was too much on Lily's mind. It was like her thoughts were screaming at her, begging her to stay awake. She groaned angrily, throwing her pillow over her head and praying her mind would allow her to sleep. The horrible thing was that this happened on a nightly basis. It was rare that Lily slept a full eight hours. She jokingly blamed it on her father, that when he used to take her to look at the stars when she was younger he made her nocturnal.

It quickly became apparent that sleep was not coming. _Why should I stay in here? _Lily wondered, staring around her dark room. She tried to make it as cheery as possible. She had a big fluffy white comforter on her bed and flowing white curtains on windows. Her newest - and favorite - decoration was the twinkle lights she taped on the ceiling. They looked like stars if Lily squinted her eyes. But, there was nothing like the real stars. So, Lily got out of bed, stepped into her slippers, and quietly left her room.

She debated with herself whether to go into the back courtyard or up on the tower. She figured if somebody were to find her out of bed, she'd be in less trouble if she were on the tower. James and Albus were caught on the tower all the time, and they rarely got in trouble.

On her way up to the tower, she passed the room Dominique was staying in. Rose _had _ended up disobeying her mother, it seemed. She could hear Dominique crying and Rose's voice whispering something about how sorry she was. Once she passed Dominique's room, she passed James and Albus's room. The two boys had shared a room ever since they were little. There were enough rooms for each of them to have their own, but something told Lily that the boys preferred to share a room. It made staying at the manor less lonely for them.

Lily thought nothing of it when she passed Scorpius's room, but it was obviously empty.

It was only when she got closer to the tower that she could hear the piano from down the hall. The tune was soft and airy. The melody reminded Lily of relief. It was being played very quietly, like the whispered secrets shared between friends. Lily didn't know why she did it. She had absolutely no explanation for why she abandoned her desire to get to the stairs that led up to the tower and tiptoed over to the music room's cracked door and peered inside for the second time that day.

Scorpius sat with his back to the door, still dressed in his usual clothes - a black button up shirt beneath a black stroller jacket, along with his black trousers and shiny black dress shoes - with his hair falling in his face as he pressed on the keys of the big, dark grand piano softly. His fingers traveled up and down the piano, from one octave to another. His dark clothing stood out against his skin, making his complexion seem completely white. Different candles were cluttered along the surface near the music rack, which held no music books. All of the music books seemed to be strewn across the floor beside the bench where Scorpius sat. Some were laying open, others look like they had been crumpled, and a few looked as if they had been well loved for years.

Scorpius seemed so at ease at his piano. His long, surprisingly gentle fingers flowed across the white and black keys with an elegance that entranced Lily. She could not take her eyes off of those fingers. Her lips parted in wonder as she watched the broken boy who had set her on edge since the moment she met him. There was something so real about him now, so raw. She was beginning to feel as if she was intruding upon something that should be so completely private - like a journal or a love letter - when Scorpius suddenly stopped. He turned his head to the side ever so slightly so he could see her in the doorway.

"If you want to come in to play that wretched clarinet of yours, by all means, do," he said, his voice seeming as soft as silk. "But don't be offended if I leave."

Lily's face colored, no doubt, horribly and she began sputtering excuses. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have just stood there. I was just going up to the tower, you see, because I can't sleep and then I heard you playing and… and… Well, I suppose there's no _real _excuse as to why I was standing there like a gaping idiot. I apologize." Some unknown force kept her feet planted in the doorway.

"Right," he said, turning his head back to the keys, "well, you're forgiven. I just don't understand why you're out of bed at this hour. Shouldn't your mother have tucked you in by now, little girl?" It was like an instant slap in the face. It reminded her so much of those traumatic instances during the holidays when Dominique and Rose would corner her and bully her. About her size and about her slightly large ears that she had sort of grew into over the years. Later, they bullied her about her breasts - or _lack _of breasts. But none of those things bothered her as much as one - her age. Lily was the youngest out of her siblings and all of her cousins. "You're much too young, Lily," they would say. Or, "You won't understand what we're talking about, Lily, it's for _big girls._" There was something so unnerving about the way they would speak those things, as if they were better or smarter than her. She would never forget it, and would forever hold a grudge against her cousins for it.

"I told you," Lily said, raising her chin stubbornly. "I can't sleep. And you have no place to talk," she accused as she strode into the room. "You're only seventeen. Three days younger than Albus. Only two years older than me."

"Don't act like I was insulting you," Scorpius said quietly, his fingers picking up a new tune on the piano - sad, but still soft. Lily wondered vaguely if he made up his songs as he went or if he had them memorized. "If we aren't killed in this Merlin forsaken war, and neither of us dies of an illness, I'll die before you do." Lily stared at him blankly. "Because I'm older," he explained, merely glancing up at her. She was standing a meter and a half to his left now, near a chair by the window that looked out over the front courtyard. "You have the advantage. You know what they say, 'All diseases run into one; old age.'"

"Er… actually, I don't," Lily said, the quote he had spoken unknown to her.

"I suppose you wouldn't," he said softly, as if he were speaking to himself. "For one, we're holed up in this miserable manor with hardly any outside social interaction. For two," he added, fully looking at her, "you barely spend anytime in the library outside of tutoring. It isn't as if you _read._"

Lily sighed, not bothering to deny it. She looked longingly at the chair that sat by the window. She wondered if Scorpius would mind if she stayed there for awhile to look out the window at the stars. It was awfully cold on the tower during this time of the year. "By all means, sit," Scorpius said, gesturing with one hand at the chair, the other still trailing on the keys of the piano. "Just pray that your brothers don't come looking for you. They might get the wrong idea."

Lily silently hoped that he wouldn't break out into anymore sexual innuendos as she took her seat. After pulling her knees to her chest, she rested her head on the back of the red velvet, generously cushioned chair and stared out the window. It was comforting to see all of the twinkling specks in the sky. It reminded her of her father, and the fact that her parents were home. It was a relief to know that they were safely in their bed at that moment. She wondered if Scorpius felt the same way. Then, she thought of Victoire, Dominique, and Louis.

"It's sad, isn't it?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the stars.

"What's that?" Scorpius asked, not seeming to care what her answer was.

"About what happened to my aunt and uncle in London tonight. And what Victoire, Dominique, and Louis have to go through now."

Scorpius didn't answer, only continued to play the now incredibly slow and depressing tune. The song seemed to go on for centuries. Eventually, Lily's eyes drooped shut, and her mind told her to get up and go to bed. But, she couldn't. Exhaustion had taken hold of her, and she finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N:**

**Okay, so there's chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**I don't have much to say, only to give credit to Ralph Waldo Emerson for the age quote. **

**Thanks for all the positive feedback on the previous chapter! I love you guys! (:**

**I'm starting to like this Scorpius as I get more ideas for his character. I hope you guys like him too! He's **_**sort **_**of similar to my previous Scorpius, but not really. We'll see how he progresses. **

**This story feels a bit dark, as a few of you commented on. I know. I'm sorry. I like angst. **

**Any quotes that you liked? And predictions that you have? Let me know. (: **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Three:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Her back ached. Her neck ached. Her entire body ached.

Lily's eyes fluttered open and she found herself in the music room, the sun shining brightly through the window beside her, reflecting light off of the shiny black piano. Scorpius was gone, unsurprisingly. The candles that had been burning the night before were completely melted, indicating that they had burnt for a long time before someone blew them out. Lily wondered how long Scorpius had played after she fell asleep. Surely, not that long… Wouldn't she have woken up if he had continued playing for _that _long?

Lily carefully pushed herself up off the chair, wincing when her stiff arms and knees bent. She hardly had the time to obsess over her sore limbs. Her humiliation beat out any pain she was feeling. How could she have fallen asleep? Why didn't she get up when she knew she was getting tired and go back to her room? She had fallen asleep to Scorpius Malfoy playing piano. Lily prayed that he wouldn't tell James and Albus… Or Rose. _Oh, Merlin, if he tells Rose she'll never let me live it down. _Possible taunts from her older cousin began swirling in her head.

After deciding she had better get down to breakfast after looking at the clock and seeing it was already nine, Lily hurried down the stairs, hoping that her hair wasn't _too _messy. Once she entered the dining room, she quickly took a seat by her mother. "Good morning, Lily," Ginny said, kissing her daughter's cheek.

"Morning, mum," Lily said, relieved again at her parents' presence. As Ginny poured orange juice for her, Lily looked around the table. Teddy, Victoire, Dominique, and Louis were absent, unsurprisingly. But, Rose sat near the end of the table, dark circles under her eyes, downing tea like there was no tomorrow. She must have been with Dominique for most of the night. Across from Rose sat Scorpius, who was picking at a piece of toast, seeming to be lost in thought. Lily swallowed and looked away from him, her cheeks coloring. She didn't bother looking for Draco - he rarely joined them at meals. Only at dinner a few times a week, and on special occasions.

Her eyes landed on her brothers, who were bickering loudly with each other at the other end of the table, where they sat with their father. Hermione and Ron had been picking up their plates when Lily had entered the dining room, and had claimed that they would meet Harry and Ginny in the office to discuss their next raid.

Lily's stomach had turned at that agreement, but she shoved the thoughts aside.

"Mum?" Lily asked, and her mother looked up at her expectantly. "Where's Mr. Hawk?"

"Oh, you just missed him, dear," Ginny said. "He said he would meet you and the others in the library once you were finished with breakfast. No later than nine-thirty," she added, louder, so the others could hear. "Is there a reason? Did you want to speak with him?"

Truthfully, there wasn't a reason. Lily only wanted to fill the silence, to make Scorpius think that she absolutely was _not _embarrassed of her immature behavior the night before… Even though she was, more embarrassed than he could probably imagine. She didn't know why she felt she needed to prove this to him, only that if she didn't, she was scared that she made the wrong impression… whatever that impression might be.

"No, no," Lily said hastily. "I was only wondering."

"Oh, well, okay then. Finish your toast, Lily," Ginny said. "You still have to go dress for the day."

Lily obeyed, and before she knew it she was out of the dining room and in her bedroom, dressing in her normal knee-length dress, stockings, and oxfords. She probably looked about five years old in that attire, but it was comfortable. Plus, she liked it. It reminded her of a time before she was born, when Death Eaters didn't terrorize the wizarding word. Even before Voldemort started it all.

After collecting her books, Lily made her way to the library. She was the first to arrive. Hawk was settled in the back of the library where he usually was, the round table that his students sat at set up for the day with parchment and quills. "Good morning, Lily," he greeted her.

Though Hawk was ancient, he was surprisingly young-looking. Nobody knew his age, but everyone knew he was well over one-hundred. He only looked about seventy, and when anybody would comment on his decent aging, he would smile and nod as if he hadn't heard them. His once-black hair was now gray, pulled back in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had piercing black eyes that could see through any lie and lips that could harden in the most intimidating line. Albus had gotten that line a lot, back when James still had lessons with them.

"Good morning, Mr. Hawk," Lily responded politely, taking her seat across from him.

They exchanged a few more words before Rose hurried in, seeming to go out of her way to sit as far away from Lily as possible. Albus joined them shortly after, with Hugo in tote. Hugo often forgot that they had lessons, and Albus took it upon himself to drag him out of the basement every morning and up to the library.

Finally, Scorpius rushed in at the last minute, sitting between Rose and Albus. With Hugo sitting in the chair beside Hawk and Rose, it left Lily completely isolated at one rounded side of the table. She sat two chairs down from the group, with two empty seats next to her. She swallowed, refusing to feel rejected.

Hawk began teaching them their lesson. Rose fell asleep after ten minutes, which was unusual for her. Normally, she took notes and asked questions all through the lesson. Lily supposed her late night with Dominique was the culprit. Hawk, facing the blackboard with his back to them and being half deaf, didn't notice. Scorpius gave Hawk all of his attention, scribbling down something on his parchment every once and awhile. Hugo fiddled with a muggle toy car, while Albus shot spit balls at him. Lily tuned in and out of their lessons, most of her attention remaining on the clock above the blackboard.

Just another day in tutoring.

…

The silence at dinner was nearly overwhelming.

Teddy, Victoire, Dominique, and Louis had joined them and nobody knew quite what to say. It was a very long thirty minutes, until finally, Ron said something about having to continue planning the next raid. That probably wasn't the best idea because Victoire burst into tears and ran out of the room, Teddy following closely at her heels. Her emotional state was odd. It wasn't like she didn't have the right to cry over what happened… But it was very, _very _spontaneous. Dominique, notorious for being the most emotional out of Bill and Fleur's children, wasn't even acting that way.

Throughout dinner, Lily noticed Scorpius glancing over at Dominique several times. His expression was something she never saw him wear before. She couldn't quite tell if it was genuine sadness for Dominique or something else all together. Lily knew that Dominique and Scorpius had kissed on New Years Eve the year before - she had been standing right behind them after all - but she didn't think it had meant anything. Scorpius didn't seem like the type who would be into a serious relationship.

Finally, after a painful, "Well… Ron was probably right," from Harry, everyone began to disperse.

Lily felt like she should say something to Dominique and Louis. They _were _family after all. Dominique wouldn't be horrible if Lily was offering her condolences, right? After taking a deep breath and pushing out from her seat at the table, she followed Rose, Scorpius, Albus, Dominique, and Louis into the den. Hugo had gone back down to the basement and James had went to speak to his father about something. Victoire and Teddy were still nowhere in site.

Once Lily had entered the room, nobody noticed her. Surprise. Everyone sat on the sofa or in one of the two armchairs by the sofa. They were facing each other, speaking quietly.

"Er… Dominique? Louis?" Lily said awkwardly. Dominique looked up at Lily, and a snarl instantly formed on her full, pretty lips. Dominique was beautiful, to the point where it was intimidating. She had long, golden-blonde silky hair with clear skin and perfectly constructed features. Her big blue eyes were surrounded by thick black lashes and her delicately arched eyebrows made her look elegant. Dominique and Rose looked a lot alike. The only differences in Rose were that she had red curly hair, brown eyes, and freckles covered her body. The adults of the family often said that they could be twins.

When Rose saw that Lily's presence upset Dominique, her face was of something similar, her snarl seeming more like a protective mother bear. Lily's eyes widened slightly.

"What, Daffodil?" Dominique demanded. Lily cringed mentally. Daffodil is what Dominique and Rose had started calling her when she was only three. They terrorized her with the name, claiming Lily wasn't as pretty as a lily, and deserved to be a flower they found ugly. Rose had a particular dislike for daffodils after finding a beetle in one when she was younger. So, when Dominique and Rose were five, they began calling Lily Daffodil. It brought back painful memories.

Nonetheless, Lily took a deep breath and trudged on. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for your loss. And… I think that-"

"I don't want your pity, Daffodil," Dominique snapped. "Don't even speak to me _or_ my brother _or _my sister. My parents death doesn't affect you, so you don't need to go spouting off things about how sorry you are." Rose seemed to think Dominique's explosion was completely justified. Louis - a male version of Dominique, in looks and in attitudes - was about as snobby as his sister, so he only glared at Lily. Albus didn't know what to say, it was obvious. Lily didn't expect him to. He couldn't stand up for Lily without making Dominique mad at him too, and it was proven that it was _not _a good idea to make Dominique mad.

Lily felt a little breathless, humiliated when she felt her cheeks color. Hot tears filled her eyes, and she begged them to go away. Lily was not one to cry, but her past with Dominique and Rose was too painful to bear. She swallowed, desperate to find something to look at, anything that would keep those tears from falling down her cheeks. Her eyes landed on Scorpius, who was watching her.

His eyes portrayed nothing, but something told Lily that he felt sorry for her. Who knows, maybe she was imagining it. Maybe she was just desperate for someone to take her side for once aside from her parents. But Lily couldn't sit there and stare at Scorpius like they were friends. They had one weird encounter, and they'd probably never speak like that again. Finally, Lily clenched her teeth and looked away from him.

"Well," she whispered softly, "sorry for bothering you… or whatever I did."

"Are you trying to be _smart?_" Rose demanded, her voice cracking like a whip after Lily's soft one.

"No," Lily muttered, as Albus said, "Rose… Come on. Stop this."

Rose ignored him. "You insensitive little brat," she sneered, standing up and closing the gap between Lily and herself in one fluid step. Lily drew in a surprised breath. "You're always in the way. You're always saying the wrong things. I suggest you leave before you do something else that will make you look more stupid than you are."

Lily didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what she did that was wrong. She was only trying to show familial support.

"Get out, Daffodil," Dominique snapped. "I don't want you here."

"It's not your house," Lily whispered without thinking, and Albus groaned. But, Lily could hardly hear her brother because as soon as the words left her mouth Rose smacked Lily across the face so fast and hard that Lily stumbled backwards. She fell, hitting her head on the coffee table with a loud _bang!_ before she hit the ground. Lily was seeing black. She could hear commotion going on around her, but she was temporarily blinded from the hit.

"Fuck," she heard Albus swear, heard the scuffling of his feet, and then felt his hand on her arm. "Lils? Lily? Damn it, Rose!" Lily's eyes fluttered open to see her brother's face staring anxiously down at her, but before she knew it, her eyes closed again. "Can somebody get my mum?" He swore colorfully for a second time. "Lily, can you hear me?"

"What the hell was that noise?" she heard James say from the doorway.

"Get mum," Albus said frantically. "Hurry! She's not responding! I think she's got a concussion."

The last thing Lily heard before she ultimately passed out was Rose saying, "I don't regret it. She had it coming."

…

When Lily woke up again, she found herself in her bedroom. She tried to sit up, but a gentle hand pushed her back down. "Mum?" she asked groggily, her fingers reaching out for her mother. Ginny took her hand in her own.

"Shh," Ginny whispered, as Lily turned her head to face her. Ginny sat in a dining chair that must have been dragged up from the ground floor. She looked exhausted, her red hair, so much like Lily's, messy and dark circles coloring beneath her brown eyes. "You've been sleeping for fourteen hours," Ginny explained before Lily could ask. "I've woken you up every couple hours to make sure you weren't falling into a coma, but you were pretty out of it, so I wouldn't expect you to remember."

"What happened?" Lily whispered.

Ginny looked sad. "Rose hit you."

Then, it all came rushing back and Lily's eyes filled with tears. If there was anybody she would cry in front of, it was her mother. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong," Lily said thickly, her tears spilling over on to her cheeks. "I was only trying to speak with Dominique, and I…" She then realized she sounded like she was telling on her cousins, as if she were a little child. "Mum, I'm sorry."

"_You_, my dear Lily, have nothing to be sorry about. Rose is in the wrong here, and Hermione and Ron are talking to her." Lily didn't bother to tell her mother that that wouldn't do any good. They had tried before. The most it would do would make Rose ignore her for a few weeks before she went back on to taunting her. It was bound to be a trillion times worse with Dominique living in the mansion now.

"What time is it?" Lily asked as Ginny wiped the tears off her daughter's face.

"It's eight thirty in the morning," Ginny responded, and Lily began to exclaim - weakly - that they had to be at breakfast in thirty minutes. "No, no," Ginny said firmly. "You have to stay in here for at least today. I hope that you'll stay in here for tomorrow too. Don't worry about anything. I've spoken to Hawk, and he said that you can take as much time as you need to get better."

Ginny's soothing voice was beginning to make Lily tired again. Lily nodded, not bothering to object. If she didn't have to face Rose and Dominique, then of course she'd stay in bed. Just as Lily was about to doze off again, she said, "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to stay in here?" Lily was surprised at how young she sounded.

"Of course, love. Of course I will."

**A/N: **

**I haven't wrote two chapters in twenty four hours in months! Phew! **

**Okay. So this chapter showed a little bit of everyone's relationships. You guys are probably like, "Dear god, this Rose is a complete 180 from your usual one." Well, sorry. I was bored with the old Rose. And I know what you guys are thinking. "Lily is weak, weak, weak… Like Bella Swan." That's where character development comes in later, which Bella did not have any of. Lily will though, I promise. She's only fifteen. Give her a break. Haha.**

**Thanks for reviewing! Love you all! **

**Anything you liked about this chapter? Quotes? Have any predictions? Let me know!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Four:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily laid awake in her bed, her head throbbing. She squinted her eyes at the twinkle lights that were taped to her ceiling, but didn't find any comfort any them. She desperately wished that she had a decent sized window in her bedroom to look at the stars from. Ginny had left for awhile - "Thirty minutes, only thirty minutes! I promise!" - to go have dinner and clean up before coming back up to Lily's bedroom. The moment she had left, Lily had stumbled across the room to flick the switch that would turn on her twinkle lights. Once she was back in bed, her head spun. Maybe getting up wasn't the best idea.

Now that that her head had stopped spinning, and she felt a little bit better, she was beginning to feel bored. She wondered if Albus and James would come visit her before they went to bed. Ginny said that they had came by a few times along with their father, but Lily had been sleeping. Lily had felt incredibly grateful that her brother's and father would come check up on her. It's not that she expected they wouldn't, but Lily rarely got special treatment being that she was the youngest and least outgoing out of her siblings and cousins.

Lily turned on her side, wincing when her back ached. She guessed that there was probably a nasty bruise from hitting the wood floor so hard, but she was too scared to look. Unsurprisingly, the fear she had of looking at her back was _nothing _compared to the fear she felt of looking at her head. At least she could cover her back with clothing. She had slammed her head against that table and floor so hard, surely there was knot somewhere. Lily hadn't even touched her head, partially in fear of making it hurt and even more in fear of finding out how big the knot was.

"Lily?" a familiar voice quietly whispered through the crack in her door. Lily turned her head to see her father standing in the doorway.

"Dad?"

"Hello," he said, shuffling his feet. "Your mother sent me up here to check on you."

"Oh…" Lily said, unsure of how to respond. "Well, I'm fine," she finally managed. "Have you eaten dinner already?"

"Not hungry," he said, finally making his way into the room. He looked up at her ceiling, and smiled. Lily blushed. Her father rarely came into her room - he had no reason to - so of course he hadn't seen her twinkle lights. Surely, he was reminded of the times they would spend in the courtyard late at night when she was little.

"They're nothing like the real thing," Lily sighed sadly as Harry took a seat in the chair that Ginny had sat in all day. He looked about as exhausted as Ginny had when she had left Lily's room. His dark hair was messier than usual, and his glasses slid down his nose when he rubbed his eyes. "Are you having trouble sleeping?" Lily wondered.

Harry didn't answer, and Lily didn't expect him to. Harry _never _burdened his children with problems of the war. He occasionally would speak to James and Albus about details that related to it, but he never spoke of his worries or sorrows. When Harry spoke, it was of a topic that Lily had not expected. "You still have that?" Harry asked, gesturing at a ratty old stuffed hippogriff that was peaking out from underneath the blankets on her bed.

"Of course," Lily said, surprised that her father would think she had gotten rid of it. "It's Buckbeak, remember? You brought it back for me after a raid when I was two."

"Oh, Buckbeak…" Harry said, smiling tiredly, a string of old memories seeming to flash in his eyes. "Yes, I remember quite clearly. You were about as big as it was when I brought it back to you." He reached across Lily and plucked the hippogriff from the bed. He held it up to get a good look at it. It was covered in gray fabric, one of its wings nearly torn off and one of it's orange eyes missing.

Harry sighed, giving it back to her. "Do you want to hear a story?"

"Not in here, I don't," Lily answered, and Harry grinned before nodding.

"Very well, then," Harry said, standing up. "We'll go out into the courtyard. But if your mother catches us, it's your fault." As Lily swung her legs over the bed, her head spun. Harry grabbed her arm to steady her. "Are you sure you can walk?" he asked as her feet touched the ground. Lily's head continued to spin, and she stumbled. Harry caught her.

"I'll be fine," Lily insisted as she leaned on her father for support. "Mum won't find out."

So, they took off down the corridor that held all of the children's bedrooms. They were all vacated since everyone was a dinner, so Lily wasn't afraid of seeing Rose or Dominique. The walk seemed longer than it usually did, but went well aside from one small mishap on the stairs. Lily looked down to watch her feet as she took the first step when her dizziness got ten times worse. She would have fallen if Harry hadn't caught her.

They had to maneuver themselves when they passed the dining room archway so they wouldn't be seen by Ginny. Lily _was _visible to Scorpius and Dominique, who sat next to each other. Scorpius glanced sideways when Lily and Harry passed the archway, and watched her for only a second before turning back. Dominique had seen his head move when he had looked at Lily, and glared at her with such a passion it made Lily shudder. She looked away quickly.

Finally, Lily and Harry made it out to the courtyard. It had been a couple years since they had gone out there to watch the stars, and the nostalgia that bubbled up in Lily's throat was nearly overwhelming. They found their spot at the usual bench. "There we are," Harry said as he lowered his daughter onto the bench and took his seat beside her. Lily looked up at the twinkling orbs before pulling her knees up to her chest.

"What story are you telling me?" Lily asked, though she knew it had to have something to do with her stuffed hippogriff.

"Well, I do you know why I called the stuffed hippogriff Buckbeak when I gave it to you?"

"Of course," Lily answered immediately. "It was your godfather's pet hippogriff's name."

"Yes," Harry said, smiling when Lily looked up at him. "It was Sirius's hippogriff." He then proceeded to launch into the story of the Time-Turner, the hippogriff, and Sirius's narrow escape from the dementors back in his third year at school. It was a thrilling, almost unbelievable tail, but Lily knew not to question its truth. Her father's past was basically unbelievable, but the Death War was proof that it was real.

Not before long, Lily's head was resting on Harry's shoulder, her eyes drooping shut. Harry was just getting to the part where he and Hermione flew over the grounds of Hogwarts on the hippogriff to rescue Sirius when Lily dozed off. The last thing she saw was the moon and the stars above her, shining down like old friends.

…

Lily woke up in her bedroom. Ginny was gone, which Lily was grateful for. Her mother deserved a good night's rest. Harry was gone as well. He must have carried her up after she fell asleep. _It's like déjà vu, _Lily thought, rubbing her eyes and waiting for them to adjust to the darkness of her bedroom. She felt like a young child again, being told stories and being carried to bed. Though it was comforting, it was rather unsettling. She was fifteen. Though she loved her parents, and was thankful they took care of her and her concussion, it was time that Lily gained at least a bit of independence.

_What a thought to have the moment I wake up, _Lily thought, finally able to see the clock. It was two in the morning. Lily cursed herself for not being able to sleep a full night, even with a throbbing head. She sighed and sat up, pleased to find that she wasn't nearly as dizzy as she had been hours before. She also found that she was completely famished. She hadn't eaten anything since the dinner she had before she had gotten her concussion.

Lily debated on whether she should wait until morning or make the trek down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, winning out. After carefully getting out of bed and stepping into her slippers, she made her way to the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her wand laying on the cluttered desk. Lily was notorious for forgetting to pick up her wand when she was alone, which was one of the main rules the adults set in the house. _Take your wand, even if you're just crossing the corridor to the restroom. _Lily never saw the point of taking it, especially with the wards that protected the manor.

But, Lily had a good reason to take it with her now. If Rose or Dominique were out wandering around, she would surely feel more comforted if she had her wand with her. After picking it up and shoving it into the waistband of her pajama pants, she left her bedroom.

It took a long time, but Lily finally got to the stairs. She gripped the railing with both hands, relieved that she hadn't had any dizzy spells so far. She took each step slowly, and was concentrating on walking correctly when she heard footsteps behind her. She whipped her head back and gasped at the dizziness that suddenly overwhelmed her.

Her foot slipped on the same stair it had when she was with Harry, and she lost her grip on the railing. She was going to fall down the entire next half of the stairs, and probably break a limb or two to go along with her concussion. She squeezed her eyes shut, prepared for the worst, and-

There was a scuffling of hurried footsteps before someone grabbed the elbow of Lily's arms, and the shoulder of her other. "Careful there," a soft voice said, though Lily hardly heard it. Her heart was slamming in her chest, blood rushing through her head. She kept her eyes squeezed shut for a moment longer than necessary, willing her dizziness to go away. When she opened them, she nearly closed them again.

Scorpius Malfoy stood on the step above hers, his gray eyes staring intently down at her. "Are you alright?" he asked, still not loosening his grip on Lily's arms. _He smells good, _Lily thought stupidly, not registering the fact that Scorpius had just rescued her from what could have been another fatal injury. It was true though. He _did _smell good. He had a cool sent, like the crisp air of early winter, with a sweet sent thrown in, like the smell of old books.

When Lily realized he was still waiting for an answer, she nodded numbly. "Fine," she squeaked.

After taking her wrists and leading her hands back to the stair rail, he stepped around her and on to the step that was in front of her, like he was going to block her if she began to fall again. "Where on Earth are you going this early in the morning?" he asked, stepping backwards onto the next step when Lily began to make her way down the stairs again. He continued down the steps as Lily did, seeming to decide that he could wait for the answer so Lily could focus on getting down the stairs in one piece.

When they had reached the bottom, Lily finally responded. "I'm going to the kitchen."

"Why is that?" Scorpius questioned, slowing his pace to match hers.

"I haven't eaten since the other…" Lily paused, her cheeks coloring. "The other night."

"Ah," Scorpius said, understanding that she didn't want to delve into the details. Lily was grateful. He was there, after all. He didn't need to ask any questions. He had watched Rose backhand her across the face, watched her fall, and watched her slam her head against the coffee table. _That _was when Lily finally felt completely humiliated over the situation. Scorpius had watched her fall and pass out, only the night directly after the one she had fallen asleep to his piano playing in the music room that might as well have been considered his room, because nobody besides him ever used it.

To keep herself from looking dumb, Lily asked, "Where were _you _going this early in the morning?"

"_I _was going back to my bedroom from the music room when I saw you stumbling down the hallway towards the stairs. I figured you were either sleep walking or the concussion had made you a little zany and you had lost your way from the restroom to your bedroom."

"So you followed me?" Lily asked, pushing the door that led into the kitchen open.

Scorpius shrugged, unashamed. "I wanted to make sure you weren't going to fall down the stairs, so I went after you. Good thing too, or you'd be writhing on the ground in agony. Or dead on the ground. Either way, it would not be very much fun."

"You have some weird obsession with death, don't you?" Lily asked, remembering his quote about death and old age from the night in the music room. He had no response, but when Lily looked at him afraid that she'd offended him in some way, he was grinning. The grin he wore was a curious thing, as if he found her accusation a funny one.

"Doesn't everybody?" he asked, and continued to speak before Lily could say no, normal people did not. She silently prayed that Scorpius wasn't going to go off on some insane rant, the kind of rants he was famous for. "Death is the only _real _mystery in our world. Everything else has a discoverable answer. Death is something nobody will ever be able to explain. Nobody will ever be able to explain exactly what leaves the body at a person's last breath or where they go after whatever that was abandons their corpse." Scorpius's eyes were blazing by now, his previous grin long gone. Lily stood in front of him, shocked. _Yes, definitely an insane rant. _"The afterlife is the ultimate mystery novel. It's the ultimate question that even the most intelligent philosophers have to ask themselves. It is the answer that everybody seeks."

Scorpius and Lily stared at each other. Scorpius seemed to realize that he probably frightened Lily a little with his outburst about life and death. Lily - though she _was _rather surprised - was not frightened, not in the slightest. All she saw was a piece of Scorpius's protective armor shatter. That armor that seemed to set him apart from the rest of the people who resided in the manor cracked, and Lily could see just a little bit more of Scorpius Malfoy than she ever thought she'd be able to. She could easily try to discuss the matter with him, ask him what made him question the concept of the afterlife so intensely. But she already knew.

His mother. He wanted to know what happened to his mother after she died.

Lily nodded slowly, and said, "I suppose everyone _does _ask that question once or twice throughout their lifetime…" Scorpius's shoulders seemed to relax when she made it clear that she didn't think that he sounded completely crazy. Luckily, Lily was spared from saying anything else when her stomach rumbled. She blushed and turned and opened the door to the pantry, without saying another word to Scorpius.

It only took her a couple of minutes to find something to eat, so when she returned into the kitchen she was surprised to find that Scorpius was gone.

**A/N:**

**Man, you guys sure know how to review. (: **

**So, I know that the first couple chapters may seem a little boring, but I needed to establish relationships and stuff. The relationship between Lily and her parents is important, I think, because in my previous stories the main characters hardly have any significant relationships with their parents. **

**So, here was your next Lily-Scorpius moment. It has significance, so remember it. **

**Thanks SO much for all of your positive feedback. I wasn't so sure about this story, and I'm still not… I mean, I like how it's going, I just wasn't sure YOU would because it's so different from some of my previous stuff… And I know some people hate when the epilogue is disregarded. But thanks for giving it a chance! **

**Next chapter will be up soon. If I don't have one up by tomorrow or the next day, have a good new year.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Five:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Three weeks had passed since the incident with Rose and Dominique, and they had not troubled Lily since. Of course, Lily had avoided them at all costs, even if that meant ducking into a closet when she heard them walking down the corridor and taking extra precautions to lock both locks on her bedroom door. But, as long as she stayed out of their way, they would leave her alone… right?

Lily couldn't worry too much about it. She still had a life to live, and she absolutely was not going to let it revolve around Rose and Dominique. Plus, her excitement over the approaching Christmas was enough to wash away her fears of her two meanest cousins. During Christmas, her entire family gathered at the manor to celebrate together. That meant her favorite cousin, and closest friend, Roxanne, would be joining them. She was the daughter of Lily's Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, and younger sister of her older cousin Fred, who was James's best mate. Lily and Roxanne were only two months apart in age, and though they were different from night and day, when Roxanne visited, she and Lily were inseparable.

When Roxanne was around, Lily actually felt like a teenager. They talked about clothes, gossiped about Rose and Dominique, and talked about boys, even though the two girls rarely saw boys who they weren't related to. Actually, Scorpius was usually who they talked about pertaining to boys because he was one of the only ones they weren't related to who they were around enough to admire. In Roxanne's past visits, Lily hardly spoke about Scorpius because he wasn't a boy she thought was _dreamy _in any way. But, Roxanne thought he was completely adorable and his mysteriousness intrigued her. Even during this visit, Lily probably wouldn't want to speak about Scorpius much. It would probably only make her feel embarrassed and awkward.

Since the night he had helped her down to the kitchen, Scorpius had not spoken to Lily once. Of course, Lily had not spoken to him either, but only because it seemed as if Scorpius was going out of his way to avoid her. Lily didn't know why she got this impression, since there was no reason for Scorpius to need to talk to her, but the way he had adverted his eyes from her the morning after his outburst about death in the kitchen had raised her suspicions.

But, she dismissed those suspicions with the assumption that he did not want to be seen with another girl in the manor. Why? Because he and Dominique had been spending an awful lot of time together in the weeks that had passed since the night in the kitchen. They walked with each other throughout the corridors of the manor, sat next to each other during lessons and dinner, and if Lily pressed her ear to her bedroom door at night she could hear Scorpius's soft voice and Dominique's giggles coming from Dominique's room down the hall.

Lily wasn't completely positive on how she felt about Scorpius and Dominique's blooming relationship. She actually wasn't even sure if that was what it was. Did they have feelings for each other, or were they only friends? Lily knew that more than once Scorpius had been in Rose's room late at night, but she also knew that Rose and Scorpius were strictlyfriends. With Dominique, Lily wasn't so sure. Dominique and Scorpius _had _kissed the year before at New Years, after all…

Lily supposed their relationship shouldn't matter to her anyway-

"Lily?" Hawk's voice irritated voice cut into her thoughts. "Lily! Are you even paying attention?"

Lily looked up from where she was fiddling a thread on the wrist of her dress, startled. "Er… Yes, sir! Of course, sir-" She had jerked her elbow back when Hawk's voice had startled her, and had knocked her quill off the table. "Oh, Merlin…" Lily muttered, leaning down and ducking her head underneath the table to reach for the quill with one hand, while her other gripped the table to keep her from falling.

Just as her hand wrapped around the quill, she saw that Scorpius and Dominique were holding hands underneath the table. Due to her rush of unjustified surprise, Lily lost her grip on the table and fell out of the chair and onto the ground. "For the love of Merlin, Lily," Albus said exasperatedly, standing up from the table and striding around it to help her up.

Once she was standing again, Lily's cheeks were blazing as Albus gripped her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Lily bobbed her head, feeling stupid. "No concussion?" he questioned her, and Lily shook her head, her cheeks turning an even darker red when Dominique and Rose began snickering loudly. She glared at them unthinkingly, and it only made the sound of their laughter increase. But, Dominique and Rose weren't the only people laughing. Albus had a sly smile on his face, and though Lily knew it was partially because he was her brother, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. Louis was guffawing loudly, and it took everything in Lily's power not to shove the quill in his hand up his nostril. Hugo had even tuned in once she fell, and had started to laugh.

Lily's eyes landed on Scorpius last, and she was horrified to see that even he had a slight smile on his soft lips as he stared down at his notes. She didn't know why Scorpius's subtle reaction hurt her so much. He wasn't even laughing like the others. Maybe it was because this was the _third _time he had seen her fall. It bothered her, because although Lily wasn't graceful, she wasn't usually this clumsy either. _Yes, _Lily thought. _That's the only explanation._ _The _only _explanation._

Hawk rubbed his eyes tiredly. "That's enough, that's enough…" he said. "Sit down, Lily, please. I'll have words with you after lessons today." Dominique and Rose were still laughing obnoxiously on their side of the table as Lily lowered herself into her chair, avoiding everyone's gazes, and Albus found his way back to his seat. "Girls," he said, when Rose and Dominique didn't stop laughing, " that's _enough._"

Lessons proceeded to drag on at an unusually slow pace. It seemed to take a hundred hours opposed to their actual four, but finally, it mercifully ended. Lily continued to stare down at her notes even when Dominique and Rose walked by, Rose leaning down to whispered in her ear, "Nice going, Daffodil. Not only are you ugly like a daffodil, but you're also clumsy and _daft._" Rose and Dominique left, laughing like they'd just shared a hilarious joke. If Lily had been brave enough, she would have asked how on Earth a daffodil could be clumsy. But Lily was not brave enough, and continued to stare down at her notes in shame.

Once everyone was gone, Lily looked up at her instructor. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hawk. I didn't mean to fall-"

"Dear Merlin, girl, you think that I made you stay after so I could lecture you for falling?" Hawk asked, settling in the seat beside her. "Of course not, Lily. And though you _should _be paying attention during lessons" - he cut her a steely glance - "I'm not here to lecture you for that either. I wanted to speak to you about the incident with Rose and Dominique-"

"Oh, Mr. Hawk, sir," Lily said, wanting nothing more but the memory of the night she received her concussion to disappear. "My parents have already taken care of it. Don't worry. If anything else happens, they'll be in a great deal of trouble…"

"I'm sure they will be," Hawk said, nodding. "But the squabbles between teenagers is not the concern either." Lily tried not to be offended that Hawk thought Rose slapping her across the face and giving her a concussion was a _squabble. _Hawk took a deep breath. "Which is exactly why I am speaking to you about this. Lily, I need you to resolve your issues with Dominique and Rose-"

"_I _need to resolve my issues with them? Mr. Hawk, I'm sorry if I sound disrespectful, but I have never done anything to those girls-"

"Your tendency to interrupt me is astounding, Lily-"

"I'm sorry, sir-"

"_Lily._"

"Right. Sorry." Lily flushed.

"I am aware that Rose and Dominique bully you, Lily. I am also aware that you have done nothing to deserve it. Believe me, I am. If I could sit Dominique and Rose down, and tell them that they needed to resolve the issues, I would. But I don't have time to speak to Rose and Dominique if their going to bob their heads, sputter out reassurances to prevent themselves from getting in trouble, and never think about what I said again, going on just as they had before." Hawk's black eyes seemed to pierce her own brown ones. "It is _crucial _that the three of you work out your differences, even if it takes extra effort from you."

"But, sir, I don't understand why this is so important," Lily said once she was sure Hawk was done speaking.

"This is life or death."

If Lily hadn't been so surprised by his response, she would have shivered. She was confused, and a little frightened, but she nodded and said, "I will try to work out my issues with Dominique and Rose.

"You _will _work out your issues with them, Lily. You _will. _It is not the matter of trying, it is the matter of succeeding. I know that you - Lily Potter, with a good heart in her chest and an even better head on her shoulders - will take what I have said seriously when the others will not."

"Yes, sir. But… Won't you tell me why it is so important?"

"It is only fair, I suppose…" Hawk sighed. A few long moments passed before he spoke again. "There will come a time, Lily, when you and the rest of the children of the house will need each other more than anything. You will be each other's greatest weapons. It would not be… _prudent _to continue on with those girls as you are now. It is incredibly important that the three of you stay civil with each other, as well as everyone else in the house."

"Why will we need each other-"

"That is all I can tell you," Hawk said, seeming sad about the fact. "Go on, girl." He waved her toward the door. "Surely, you wish not to spend the afternoon in here with a crazy old man?" Hawk smiled, and for the first time ever Lily saw the glimmer of a warrior show in his eyes. A warrior with a past that was never spoken of, a warrior who - for some reason - was trying to protect her and the rest of the children of the manor.

Finally, Lily said goodbye to Hawk and picked up her bag off of the ground beside her. Once she was up and nearly to the door of the library, Hawk spoke once more. "Lily?" he said. Lily looked back, hopeful that he would spout off something that would make everything he had just told her more clear. That was not the case, though. All he said was, "Keep your wand handy, dear. You'll never know when you will need it."

Lily nodded slowly, suddenly painfully aware that her wand was sitting on her bedside table, and turned to open the door. Once she had it open, and was out in the corridor, she glanced back into the library. If she hadn't looked back, she wouldn't have seen Scorpius leaning against one of the rows of bookshelves, placed exactly so he wouldn't be visible to Hawk, examining his nails with a thoughtful expression on his face.

…

It was like this every year. _Every single year. _

Whenever the rest of the family came to visit the manor for Christmas, the residents of it would go into a cleaning frenzy. Not because they were embarrassed that the manor was sometimes a little cluttered, but because they wanted it to look nice for the relatives that they saw once a year at the most. Even Albus and James helped, because they knew that their Grandma Molly would chastise them the entire time she was there if their rooms weren't spick and span when she inspected them.

Lily liked to clean, so she wasn't bothered by it. There wasn't much to accomplish at the manor, and cleaning gave Lily a sense of achievement. So, as she scrubbed laboriously away at the tile in the foyer, she wasn't in the least bit bothered that she wasn't doing something different. Dominique and Rose were a whole different story, though. They complained and rolled their eyes and stuck out their tongues behind the adults' back when they would tell them to clean something else.

It set Lily on edge, because the adults rarely asked anything of the children, so how could Dominique and Rose feel _bothered _by it when their parents asked them to do the simple task of cleaning? Lily would clean the entire house if parents asked her to. It was out of plain respect for them. She wouldn't dare say no if they only asked her to clean.

Little things like this is what kept Lily from trying to resolve the issues between her and the girls. The small differences that set them apart made her dislike them even more, and now that she was told that she needed to fix their problems, her animosity seemed amplified. The way Rose took thirty extra minutes in the bathroom every morning, the way Dominique complained that the foods Ginny and Hermione cooked were fattening, the way that the girls spent the night in each other's rooms and giggled until dawn. They all bothered Lily to the point of ridiculousness.

Lily knew it was petty, and something told her she was going to regret it, but she couldn't bring herself to try to speak to the girls. The girls' mere presence is what made Lily decide to scrub the floor in the foyer. She knew that they wouldn't dare to get down on their knees for any matter other than something that should not be mentioned, so Lily had gone straight to the kitchen once she had dressed in the morning, filled up her pale, got her sponge out from under the sink, and made a beeline to the foyer.

By now, the floor was sparkling. Lily stood up to admire her work before putting the soaking sponge back into her pale and moving it to the unscrubbed side of the room that she would finish after she had lunch.

Lily was in a particularly good mood as she walked down the narrow corridor that would lead her to the second corridor, that would lead her to the living room, that would lead her to the kitchen and dining room. But, her mood was instantly spoiled when she heard Dominique's high pitched giggle as she reached the end of the first corridor and was approaching the second corridor.

Carefully, Lily stepped closer to the wall and crept along it until she could peak around the corner. The sight she saw shouldn't have bothered her, but it did. More than it should have.

Scorpius stood with his back against the wall, Dominique's arms draped around his neck as he kissed her softly. Dominique's blonde silky hair fell to her waist as she turned her head up to return his kiss, her hands sliding from the back of his neck and into his hair. Lily resisted the urge to turn her head when Scorpius's hands traveled from Dominique's waist and down to her behind, where he kept them. Those long, graceful fingers that Lily had admired as he had played the piano suddenly seemed disgusting.

At this point, Dominique pulled away and smiled flirtatiously at him. Her beautiful smile nearly hurt to look at. Burning jealously shot through Lily. _Why can't I look like that? _Lily thought. _Why does Dominique, stupid as a post and mean as a snake, get to be beautiful? _

Scorpius trailed his lips from her cheek, down her neck, to where he kissed her collarbones. Dominique purred in a way that made Lily want to vomit, and leaned her head back. Scorpius continued along her collarbones and back up, until he reached her lips again. Dominique thrust herself into him, and Lily had to look away.

Lily couldn't explain why she felt so upset. Her heart was slamming in her chest and blood was rushing in her ears. Her appetite was suddenly gone, and all she wanted to do now was go lay in her bed. She began to walk back in the direction was had come from, planning to take the main case of stairs that were in the foyer up to her bedroom instead of the ones near the dining room.

It was only a matter of seconds before Lily broke out into a sprint, now completely desperate to be in the confines of her bedroom. She took the stairs two at a time and ran past the corridor that held the adults' bedrooms, past Draco's quarters, and finally reached the corridor that held the children's bedrooms. She flew down that corridor, only feeling a sense of relief when she opened her bedroom door, slammed it, and locked it behind her.

**A/N:**

**New chapter! Woot! **

**Okay, so thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were great and I loved them. **

**Hope you guys had a good New Year, I know I did. (;**

**Now, I hope you liked this chapter. The story is finally getting going. The plot is starting up. So don't go anywhere! It'll get better, I promise! **

**I would love you if you reviewed! (:**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Six:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Roxanne wasn't coming.

Lily's Aunt Angelina had come down with a terrible case of pneumonia. There were potions she could have taken to cure it, but those potions took up to three days to work and it was already Christmas Eve. It would have been pointless, since the holiday would already be over. It wouldn't have been so bad if the news of Roxanne and her family hadn't stopped everyone else in the huge Weasley family from coming. They all said that it would be best to just come for New Years, since Christmas wouldn't be the same without all of them there. Lily silently thought that this was a completely lie. She wouldn't be surprised if nobody showed up for New Years, either. The Death War had everyone scared out of their wits, to the point where they didn't even want to leave their houses…

Lily was devastated that the holidays would be the same this year, but… _Roxanne. _

Lily felt particularly crushed at this news. Usually, Lily took bad news with grace. Sometimes, people couldn't help how or when something happened. But this… this had been it. It felt like everything had been working against her lately, and she was sick of it. Lily hated to sound so negative, but she couldn't help it. First when getting slapped and getting the concussion, then finding Scorpius and Dominique plastered to each other in the corridor. _Not _that it was still bothering her or anything…

But now Roxanne, the only person she could laugh and talk to without having to worry about being made fun of or judged, was not coming. Lily swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling tight. _Pull it together. There's no reason to cry. _Lily usually made a point of not crying, mainly because there was usually worse things that could happen. But just this once she wanted something to go her way, just this once she didn't want to end up disappointed.

Lily rolled over on her side, covering her head with her pillow. She could not sleep, and it wasn't because that in the morning it would be Christmas. The childish excitement over Christmas had left her years ago, when she was seven. Her mind still burned with the memory as if it were the day before. Rose and Dominique had "accidentally" broke the present her parents had gotten her - a porcelain baby doll, with golden ringlets and big blue eyes. Rose had held the doll over the side of the tower and had dropped it only a few hours after Lily had gotten it out of the box. Rose and Dominique claimed it was an accident while Lily cried to her parents. They said that Rose had tripped and lost her grip on the doll, making it fly over the edge of the tower…

The memory spoiled Lily's mood further. She hated Rose and Dominique. She hated them with a passion she herself could not explain. Lily had never thought she hated them before, but the more she thought about them and all of the horrible things they had done to her in the past, she couldn't help it. She knew they were family, but she didn't care. Lily hated Rose and Dominique, and nothing would change that, no matter what her parents said, no matter what Hawk said. Hawk was only a crazy old man, after all. For all Lily knew, he could have been blathering on about nothing, merely the insane thoughts of an insane man. Even if the children of the house would eventually be "each other's greatest weapons," it did not matter. If Lily ever had to work with Dominique and Rose, she would, but she would hate them at the same time.

Lily almost felt guilty for having such a strong dislike of her cousins, but was it really that unreasonable? Lily had never done anything to them. She took what they threw at her in silence and sulked about it when she was by herself. She was finished. Lily had decided she would not put up with it any longer after she had seen Dominique and Scorpius kissing in the corridor. Lily did not have an explanation for why that particular instance - and instance that should not have affected her in the slightest - send her anger over the top, but it did not matter. All that mattered was that Lily would _not _deal with Dominique and Rose's horribleness any longer. It was time that Lily started to stick up for herself.

She didn't even care what repercussions it would have. It was time that Dominique and Rose learned to respect her for the person she was. Lily was not a little girl anymore. She would no longer be pushed around by her cousins who were only a couple years older than her.

By now, Lily was fuming. She cursed herself for getting so worked up. _You're supposed to be trying to go to sleep, stupid, _she thought to herself angrily. After glancing at the clock on the wall, she saw that it was already past two thirty in the morning. She groaned, frustrated and wide awake. It was going to be a long night.

…

Lily stared blearily around the den, her knees pulled up to her chest. She had managed to _finally _fall asleep and hour ago… And was woken up fifteen minutes ago. Her family was around her, wide awake with excitement. Presents that had appeared under the tree over night overflowed out from under it. The sun was just starting to shine through the windows, filling the den with early morning light. It would have been beautiful and happy if Lily hadn't been so tired and if Dominique and Rose weren't so _loud. _

They were opening their stockings, exclaiming how happy they were about being together at Christmas and stage whispering snide remarks about how they were so glad that they had each other while sending smug looks to Lily, who sat completely alone on the opposite side of the room from them in an armchair. She glared at them, unable to ignore the relief she felt that Scorpius wasn't around for Dominique to cling to.

He and Draco had their own Christmas, in Draco's chambers. They would join the rest of them for dinner. Lily wondered if they exchanged presents or had Christmas breakfast. It didn't seem like something the Malfoys would do. Some little voice in the back of Lily's mind was praying that Scorpius wasn't lonely on Christmas.

It only took about an hour for everyone to get through their presents. Lily had gotten a few new dresses and brown leather bag that she adored. Her brothers had gotten new broomsticks and a couple other things. Lily grinned when they started begging Harry if they could go fly the broomsticks around the manor. "We'll stay with in the wards, we promise!" they said eagerly, as if they were ten years old. Finally, Harry agreed and told them he would join them later.

Harry waited for them and everyone else besides Ginny and Lily to leave before getting a sly look on his face. He looked at Ginny, and she smiled back. Lily hoped they wouldn't start getting all mushy with each other in front of her. Luckily, they didn't. Ginny turned her smile to Lily and said, "We have one more present to give you."

Lily, surprised, didn't know what to say. Her parents had never given her something on Christmas without the rest of the family present. She wondered how important it was. "Okay…" Lily said hesitantly, giving her father a suspicious look. He only grinned and slipped out of the room. Lily turned to her mother. "What is it?" Lily asked. "I hope you two didn't go to too much trouble or anything…"

Ginny sat down in the couch nearest to the armchair Lily was still seated in. "We actually didn't spend any money at all," she said. "We also didn't even know you would be getting it until two nights ago. But as soon as your father saw it, he knew you would love it so he picked it up and brought it home." Lily didn't have time to ask what _it _was, because at that moment, her father walked into the room with a medium sized box in his hands. He set it down at Lily's feet and stood back for her to open it.

"Don't shake it or anything," he said hastily. "It's fragile."

Lily smiled as she slid off the armchair and on to the ground. Just as her hands rested on the top of the box, she heard a sound from within. It was a little squeak, something she would not have heard if she hadn't been paying complete attention to the box. Lily's smile widened when she realized what that squeak had been. Quickly, she pulled the lid off of the box and gasped when she saw what was inside.

A small, gray, green-eyed kitten was staring up at her. He looked like a gray tiger, mostly light gray with darker gray stripes here and there. His ears that stuck up were pink inside, as was his little wet nose. He meowed at Lily as she stared at him in wonder. "Oh, mum… dad…" Lily snatched the kitten out of the box and hugged him to her chest. He purred softly, rubbing his head against her. Lily was in love instantly. She was suddenly overcome by emotion, and she could only stare at her parents with tears in her eyes.

Harry shuffled his feet awkwardly, having never been good at dealing with tears. "I'm glad you like him, Lils. I saw him roaming around the streets when I was going to the Ministry the other day, and I couldn't just leave him there. I knew I couldn't do anything with him, so I figured I'd give him to you."

"Well…" Lily said, swallowing. "He's great. I love him."

"Good," he said, relieved that there wasn't going to be any waterworks. "Well, I'm going to go make sure James and Albus don't crash those brooms." He was out of there before Lily could respond. She turned to her mother.

"This is the best present I've ever gotten," she said, rubbing her cheek against the top of the kitten's head. "Thank you so much."

Ginny leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Your father and I just thought you might like some company. We know how hard it is for you to connect with Rose and Dominique" - Lily's temper flared at the mere mention of them - "and since your brothers are well… You know, your brothers, we thought it would be nice for you to have someone else to spend time with. We felt horrible that Roxanne wasn't coming this year, so it was the least we could do."

"He's perfect," Lily said. "Thank you so much."

Ginny smiled at Lily before patting the kitten's head. "You better give him a name." Lily nodded, and her mother began to walk out of the room. She turned just as she reached the archway. "Oh, and Lily? Please don't give him a name like 'Fluffy' or something ridiculous like that. Something unique, something that suits him."

…

Lily couldn't find the kitten.

He had been there, sitting on her bed, staring at her adoringly. Then, Lily had turned away for two seconds - _two seconds! _-and he was gone. Lily wasn't too concerned about it, since the kitten was trapped inside the manor, but the manor was a big place. Plus, imagine how embarrassed she would be if the kitten managed to find its way into Draco's room. How would she explain _that _to Scorpius's father?

So, now Lily was darting around the manor in her pajamas, calling out "Kitten!" in a whisper since she hadn't named him yet. It was past midnight, and the entire manor was sleeping. Or, at least, Lily assumed they were sleeping. She had been running around the manor for a good thirty minutes and she hadn't managed to bump into anyone. The kitten was a mischievous little thing - this was the second time it had gotten away from her. The first time she had found him standing near a window in the foyer, hissing at rose bush that was scratching against it from the outside.

Lily couldn't help but smirk when she saw that. The kitten didn't like roses. Maybe that meant he wouldn't like Rose either.

But, now, it seemed nearly impossible to find the kitten. Lily was beginning to feel desperate. If she kept loosing that kitten, it would show that she was irresponsible. Rose and Dominique would always be on her case about it. "Where's your kitten, Daffodil?" or "Did you loose track of your kitten again? Maybe he doesn't like you." She needed to put a bell on his collar or something so she could hear him whenever he ran off.

Just as Lily was about to give up and go check her bedroom to see if he ended up back there, she rounded a corner and saw a fluffy gray tail whip around the corner that led down the corridor that held the tower door and the music room. Lily suddenly felt sick. What if Scorpius was in the music room? What if the door was open? What if Lily's kitten went inside the music room and bothered Scorpius? What if Scorpius was _allergic _to cats?

Lily broke out into a sprint, and nearly sighed in relief when she rounded the corner to see that the kitten had stopped a few doors down from the music room and was scratching at a peeling bit of wallpaper near the ground. Soft piano music was flowing through the hall. _Thank goodness, _Lily thought. _Now I can get the kitten and go back to my bedroom and Scorpius won't even know we were here._

When the kitten saw her, he looked up, his green eyes alert. "Come here, kitten," Lily whispered, careful not to make any sudden movements.

The kitten tensed, and as soon as Lily took a step forward, it bounded off toward the music room. _That little…! _was all Lily could think before she ran after it. The kitten ran and ran, seeming to hardly hit the floor as it did. Lily came to a halt, terrified, watching him as he darted through cracked door of the music room.

There was a horrible clanging of keys as the piano music came to a stop. Lily cursed to herself before slowly creeping forward and peering inside the music room. Scorpius sat in his usual attire on the piano bench, with his usual candles all around him, and his usual messy array of music books strewn across the floor. But Scorpius was _not _what Lily was paying attention to. She was looking at her kitten, who was standing on keys of the piano. Scorpius was staring at the kitten apprehensively, his fingers resting carefully on the keys, and the kitten was staring back, his green eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

"Oh, Merlin," Lily said quickly. Scorpius turned slowly to see her scurrying into the room and snatching the kitten off of the piano. "I lost track of him, you see. This is the second time. He just disappears and I can't help where he goes, obviously."

Scorpius was watching her ramble with an amused expression on his face. "Obviously," he agreed.

Lily was flushed, probably holding on to the kitten a little to tight. He squirmed uncomfortably in her grip, giving her an irritated squeak. She loosened her grip on the kitten without taking her eyes off of Scorpius. "I tried to catch him before he came in here, but he runs _really _fast. I hope he didn't ruin anything," Lily blathered on, her eyes raking up and down the piano, hoping the kitten didn't scratch it or do any type of catastrophic damage.

Scorpius was watching Lily talk, his face still an expression of amusement. It only took Lily a few seconds longer to realize that she was being totally intrusive. "Wow, I'm sorry," Lily said quickly. "I didn't mean to barge in here. Or for my kitten to barge in here. He's new - I got him only this morning - so he probably wants to learn his way around the manor." _Shut up, Lily, _Lily thought to herself. "Right," she said breathlessly. "I'm going to go now."

Just as she turned to leave, Scorpius asked, "What's his name?"

"Er - what?" Lily asked stupidly, turning back to face him. Was he mocking her?

"Your cat," Scorpius said, turning his body on the piano bench so he was fully facing her. "What's his name?"

"Oh…" Lily said, feeling dumb. "Well… I don't know. He doesn't have one."

Scorpius eyed the squirming kitten Lily held in her hands. "Poor, confused little thing," he said at last, as if it were a shame the kitten didn't have a name. Lily instantly grew defensive. She'd had the kitten for less than a day. He was in now way confused because she hadn't given him a name yet.

"He is _not _confused," Lily said angrily. Scorpius smirked, that forever present wicked glint in his eye amplifying. "I just don't know what to name him." She held up the kitten at eye level. "He has such a little personality. He's headstrong, stubborn…" Lily snapped her mouth shut, realizing that she had began talking uncontrollably again. "Sorry," she apologized. "I should probably leave you alone."

"Why _should _you?" Scorpius asked, turning to his piano and beginning to play a rather dark tune. His blond hair was falling into his face, making Lily wonder how he could see what he doing. "Is it that you feel that you should or that you want to?" Lily shuffled her feet uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond. It was more of that she felt that _should, _since apparently Scorpius was in a relationship with Dominique. It would be wrong for Lily to stay in the music room alone with Scorpius, even if there were no romantic relations between the two of them, no matter how much she hated Dominique. Lily would do anything to get back at her cousin for all she had done in the past, but not tear apart a romantic relationship. That would be a low blow.

Despite Lily's thoughts, all she could manage to say was, "I don't know."

"Then sit down until you make up your mind," Scorpius said, tilting his head toward the armchair by the window as he continued playing. He stopped only to add, "I can help you name him, if you want. Just give me a few minutes to think."

Lily's mind was screaming at her not to, but her feet dragged across the wood floor to the chair and she sat in it, the kitten curling up obediently on her lap. _Now he decides to behave, _Lily thought grudgingly, glaring down at the little gray kitten. He seemed to send her smug look.

"You say he's headstrong and stubborn," Scorpius mused, his fingers playing a particularly spectacular part of a song as he did so. "Am I correct?" he asked when Lily didn't respond, glancing at her from the keys. Lily didn't answer because she had been entranced by his fingers flowing across the black and white keys, unsurprisingly graceful, but surprisingly… Lily didn't know. She supposed there should be _nothing _surprising about this. It was a known fact that Scorpius played piano well, but Lily couldn't help but feel a peculiar awe as she watched him.

"Yes," Lily said, "yes, he's very headstrong and stubborn."

"And he's feline," Scorpius said unnecessarily. Lily nodded. "You like the stars," he added, and it took everything in Lily's power not to gap at him like an idiot. Lily didn't know why she was so shocked that those four words left Scorpius's mouth. Of course, her liking the stars wasn't a scandal _or _a secret, but she also didn't go blabbering on about it all the time. It was something that she liked to keep to herself. She liked watching the stars by herself, or with her father. Scorpius didn't know her - he barely spent any time with her - so how could he know this fact about her?

"Er…"

"I saw you watching them out that window the last time you were in here," Scorpius said, catching her confused expression. "And, I walked past your bedroom the day you were hanging those twinkle lights on your ceiling. Your door was open. I thought you were going to fall of that rickety old step stool and break your neck," he added, only emphasizing his odd fascination with death. "Anyway," he said, unbothered by her lack of response. "He's headstrong, stubborn, feline, and Lily likes stars…" His song transformed into something incredibly high-pitched and gentle, and Lily could only manage a nod, hating herself for being so tongue tied around him.

"Name him Leo," Scorpius finally said.

"Leo?" Lily asked. "Like the constellation?"

"Just the one," Scorpius confirmed, looking up at her, pulling his fingers from the keys. The music room seemed oddly quiet now that he had stopped playing. "If we're referring to the zodiac sign, Leos are pompous and determined, but also loving and faithful, which fits him perfectly." Lily and Scorpius both looked at the kitten, who was now fast asleep on Lily's lap, and then back at each other. "Then, if we're speaking in general terms, the Leo is a lion - a feline, like your cat. Then, if we're speaking in Lily terms" - there was an unexplainable intensity in Scorpius's blazing gray eyes that made Lily look away, flustered - "Leo is a constellation, which is as you know, a cluster of stars."

"Hmmm," Lily sighed, petting the top of the kitten's head with her index finger. "Would you like that name?" she asked the little gray ball of fur. "Leo?" The kitten's ears perked up in his sleep before laying back down against his head. "I think he likes it," Lily told Scorpius, which got her one of his rare grins.

"You know," Scorpius said, beginning to play once again. "One of my cousins is in the Leo constellation. Well, obviously not _in _the constellation. He was named after a star in it. Regulus. He's dead," he added unnecessarily. Lily took note that that was the second mention of death or injury that night while she tried to put a finger on why the name Regulus sounded so familiar. "He was your dad's godfather's brother," Scorpius clarified when he saw Lily's mystified expression. Then Lily remembered. Sirius's brother, of course. "If you were alive when Regulus was, I bet you'd have a crush on him," Scorpius said, making Lily nearly stand up and knock Leo onto the ground.

"_What?_"

"He's named after a star. Surely, you'd think he was just _dreamy._" Scorpius smiled at her to let her know that he was joking. Lily didn't think it was funny. Now that Scorpius knew she loved the stars, he was mocking her for it. She prayed he wouldn't mention anything about her love for the night sky to Dominique or Rose. Surely, they'd find someway to make of her for it all the time.

"Ha-ha," Lily said sarcastically, once again amplifying the wicked glint of amusement in Scorpius's eyes. There was a few moments of silence before Lily sighed and stood up, cradling Leo in her arms. "I'd better get to bed." When Scorpius didn't respond, Lily kept going. "Thanks for helping me name him. It think it suits him perfectly."

"I only aim to please," Scorpius finally spoke, only taking a moment to glance up at her before continuing to play. Lily walked to the door when she decided Scorpius was done talking to her for the night. But, just as she stepped over the threshold, he said, "You know, I'm named after a whole constellation."

Lily cheeks burned red, and she continued walking, pretending that she hadn't heard him. She was afraid that if she acknowledged his words, she would reveal that she knew that he was named after a constellation, of course she knew, and that while Scorpius was speaking about Lily finding someone with the name of a star attractive, his name was the only name racing through her mind.

**A/N:**

**Super super super sorry that that took all week. I just got back to school on Tuesday and my week was insane. I hardly had any time to write. Thank you SO much for all the reviews and I hope you liked this chapter too. **

**Lily's **_**finally **_**building up the courage to stand up to Rose and Dominique **_**and **_**she's starting to dig deeper into her feelings toward Scorpius, though right now it's a lot of **_**I-don't-know's. **_

**Okay, now I'm going to bed because it's late and I have school tomorrow. Things will start picking up in the action-y part of the story in the next few chapters, I swear! **

**Reviews will make me love you! More than I already do, anyway! (:**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Seven:**

**Lily Potter II:**

All of the days leading up to New Years Eve, Scorpius was absent.

He was not in lessons, he was not at meals, and he was not in the music room. But, it was not as though he was _completely _absent. He could be heard in his bedroom, throwing things, hitting things, and every once in a while, a magic induced explosion could be heard. Alcohol was mysteriously disappearing from the wine cellar. Scorpius was having one of his fits; the fits he was famous for. Everyone in the manor tried to ignore it, but it was obvious it set them all on edge. Draco, particularly.

During Scorpius's fits, Draco was seen a lot more than he usually was. He apologized whenever a exceptionally loud bang sounded throughout the manor, and apologized even more when the adults would wake up in the morning and find that a fraction of the firewhisky had disappeared. It was awkward, because how could someone respond to that? Of course, it was not okay… But everybody knew that Scorpius had a problem, and they knew that it was best not to bother him.

Whenever Scorpius threw one of his fits, Lily usually disregarded them as best as she could. But now that she had some sort of connection with Scorpius, she could not help but feel anxious. It bothered her that he was upset more than it should have, but that was not the only reason she perturbed by the situation. She felt like it was partially her fault. The fit had started up only hours after she had left the music room on Christmas night. Lily knew that Scorpius's fits came on at random, but she had an awful feeling that she was the reason for this one. She did not know why, but it was like a constant nagging in the back of her head.

Now it was New Years Eve, and the banging and explosions in Scorpius's room had toned down. It was a relief, knowing that maybe he was okay now. Lily knew it was not her place to feel this relief, but she could not help it. The last thing Scorpius had said to her on Christmas night had stuck with her. _You know, I'm named after a whole constellation. _

Chills ran down her spine whenever she thought of it. She knew that those chills were totally unjustified and that there was no reason for her to get so flustered whenever she thought about it… But she could not help it. Scorpius - though rather loony - was incredibly straight forward. What was he trying to imply? Was he saying that Lily should have a crush on him? _Did _Lily have a crush on him?

No! She hardly knew him. She found him interesting, of course, but how could someone not? There was a part of Scorpius that seemed to be so real, so raw… That part seemed to be as clear as day, but hidden at the same time. It made Lily's head spin. Part of her wanted to know more about him, and part of her wanted to keep Scorpius where he had always been to her - at a distance.

But, she supposed it did not matter what she wanted. Scorpius was not implying that he wanted her, but that _she _wanted _him. _He was mocking her, just as everyone else had her entire life. Just as-

"Daffodil?" a horribly unpleasant voice cut into Lily's thoughts. Lily had been splayed across a sofa in the den, and realized that her choice of location had been a horrible mistake. It had been weeks since Rose and Dominique had bothered her, so she had let her guard down. When Lily looked up to see the two of them standing there, sly smirks drawn across their face, her heart fell a little. But then she remembered her promise to herself. _I will not let them control me, _she thought, and stood up so she was almost eye-level with them.

"Yes?" Lily asked, raising her chin stubbornly to let them know that she was absolutely, positively _not _going to put up with their nonsense.

"Your kitten tore up my favorite shirt," Dominique said, not seeming to register that Lily's composure was different than it usually was when she was confronted by them. Rose, on the other hand, was eyeing Lily suspiciously. She seemed to be more observant than Dominique, and it only took her a moment to see that Lily had a new determined air to her. Dominique continued speaking. "That little rat tore it to shreds. I was going to wearthat shirt tonight."

Lily had expected them to taunt her. Since they had only come to tell her of what Leo had done, and the fact that it _was _Lily's fault that she had not paid closer attention to Leo, she had to apologize. "Sorry," Lily said, trying not to sound jittery. "He's only a kitten, he did not know any better." Though Lily was being civil, she did not want to appear as though she was bowing down to them. "I'm sure you can find another shirt to wear tonight, Dominique."

Dominique scoffed, her eyes widening. "Uh… _no._ You're going to give me money to pay for my shirt, because that dirty little stray of yours ruined it. I was going to wear that tonight, Daffodil. Now I have nothing to wear, and it is your fault."

"I would be happy to reimburse you, Dominique," Lily said, "but I don't appreciate the way your speaking to me."

"_What_ _did you say?_" Rose demanded incredulously, her hands flying to her hips. "Excuse me, Daffodil, but you're lucky we didn't kick that runt down the stairs after what it did." Lily was appalled at Rose's would-be threat, but she had to keep calm. Rose was only being Rose, Lily knew that much. She would not have kicked Leo down the stairs, but she would not hesitate to threaten to do it.

Lily turned her attention to Rose. "Sorry, but I don't see how my kitten ruining Dominique's shirt affects you." Pride instantly bubbled up in Lily's throat. It was the first time ever she had stood up for herself to Rose. Lily hated both girls with a passion, but if she was asked to say which one she despised more… It was Rose. Rose had always acted as if her high level of intelligence gave her the right to spout out whatever she wanted. Even Dominique had certain boundaries.

Rose seemed shocked. "You're… you're… _despicable!_" she finally said. "Listen here, Daffodil. I would hit you again if I could, but my parents told me they'd take away my books if I did. If you're stupid little cat lays one paw on any of our things, ever again, I will not hesitate to drop it from the tower just as I did to you doll years ago. Do you understand?"

Lily's protectiveness over Leo flared, but she held her ground. "You know…" Lily said offhandedly. "It's funny how you speak of yourself and Dominique as 'we.'" She dropped her voice into a whisper. "At least I have a bit of independence." Lily smiled angelically at Rose, whose face was turning tomato-red, before turning back to Dominique. "I'll drop off a couple galleons at your door later so you can have the adults pick up a new shirt for you the next time they're away."

She strode past them, out of the den, and around the corner. It was only once she was up the stairs and in her bedroom that she realized how very stupid she had been. Yes, she had stood up for herself, and yes, she was proud. But… Now Rose and Dominique would stop at nothing to make her life a living hell.

…

"Well, don't you look lovely," James said from Lily's doorway, grinning at his little sister as she spun around in front of her mirror. Lily stuck her tongue out at him just as he was joined by Albus, who looked identical to his brother in a suit and tie. New Years Eve dinner was a formal affair at the manor. Everyone dressed up in their best attire and had fancy food and sent off fireworks. Harry's wards managed to keep the fireworks trapped in the boundaries of the manor, so there was no risk of them being discovered.

Lily wore a black dress. Nothing spectacular. It only emphasized her lack of breasts and slender waist. She knew that her older female cousins would look miraculous, and she relished in the mere thought of the fact that Scorpius was not fit to come down and see Dominique in all her glory.

"Come on, Lily," Albus said impatiently. "Dinner is starting already."

So, the three Potter children linked arms - Lily in the middle - and hurried downstairs. The dining room looked marvelous. Ginny, Lily, and Victoire had outdone themselves in the kitchen. Platters of food covered the big oak table and goblets of sparkling cider sat to the right of each empty plate. Lily, James, and Albus sat down at the end their parents were located at, and it did not take long for the boys to start filling their plates.

Lily looked around to see that Scorpius was not there, as predicted, but Draco sat in his usual spot at the opposite end from Harry. He was silent, unsurprisingly, but seemed relieved that explosions had stopped sounding from his son's bedroom. Rose, Dominique, Louis sat next to each other across from Lily and her brothers, with Ron, Hermione, and Hugo to their left. Victoire, Teddy, and Hawk sat on the other side of Albus. Everyone was there except for the blond haired piano player.

Supper went by excruciatingly slow, not only because Rose kept shooting Lily daggers from across the table, but because the very obvious fact that the rest of the Weasleys were not at the dinner table hung in the air like smog. Lily had predicted they would not show up for the New Year, but it was still disappointing.

Once dinner was over, the festivities began. Harry, Albus, and James hurried outside to start sending off fireworks. Dominique had stormed out of room as soon as dinner was over, seeming to finally explode over the fact that Scorpius was not present. Rose had followed after her, and after a few moments, Lily followed after Rose. Of course, Lily was not following her to consol Dominique. She was going to eavesdrop on what they were saying, because this might be her only chance for a long time to see what Dominique intended on doing with Scorpius.

Lily followed far behind Rose and Dominique until they stopped in the foyer - the one Lily had cleaned weeks prior. Lily crept forward to peer through the banister of the grand stairway. The two girls were sitting on first steps. Dominique's head rested on Rose's shoulder, and Rose stroked her cousin's long blonde hair softly. "It's okay," Rose said quietly as Dominique sniffed sadly. "Scorpius does this all the time. He isn't well. Before you started seeing him, I warned you of it, remember?"

"Of course I remember," Dominique replied, rubbing her eyes. "I just don't see _why…_"

To Lily's surprise, Rose had a steely edge in her voice - so much like her mother's - when she spoke again. "He watched his mother get murdered by Death Eaters when he was four. It's odd, I agree, but it is totally justified." Though Lily hated to admit it, she was relieved that Rose spoke up for Scorpius.

"I just wish he would talk to me about it," Dominique said, and Lily resisted the urge to snort.

"Dom, Scorpius doesn't even talk to _me _about it. He might speak to Albus a little, but I'm not even sure of that. All we know is that his mother was killed right in front of him, and it has traumatized him to the point of no return."

"It's so awful!" Dominique said unnecessarily. "You think he'd want to talk to someone about it… I can't be fun keeping it all locked up like he's doing. I want to try to help him," she insisted. "He _needs _to get help. It isn't healthy."

"Scorpius doesn't want help," Rose said shortly. "He doesn't want to talk to anybody. Albus says that he doesn't speak with anyone about it because it's a way of punishing himself."

"Punishing himself for _what?_" Dominique demanded, echoing Lily's exact thoughts.

"Is it not obvious?" Rose asked, her voice dropping low into a whisper. Lily strained herself to hear. "Scorpius think it's his fault his mother was killed. He hasn't told me this directly, but a few things he's said led Albus to believe this is why he's punishing himself…"

"I hate it!" Dominique said loudly, her voice echoing throughout the dark foyer. "I hate it! I like him so much, Rose," she said, a tinge of desperation in her voice. "He's so sweet and he has this charm to him that's like… like… I don't know, but it makes him so unique." Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How many boys had Dominique met that she wasn't related to? Probably very few. She didn't know what was unique and what wasn't. "I like him _so much. _But if he's like this all the time, I can't deal with it… What triggers it? Do you think it's something I said?"

"Albus and I notice it's when he says or does something that makes him seem… normal. I don't know. A few years ago, back when we were fourteen, my parents and aunt and uncle took in a few muggleborns to keep them safe from these Death Eaters that were after them… Scorpius hit it off with a girl the same age as us. I don't really know what happened, all I know is that one morning we woke up to Scorpius slamming furniture around in his room and half the liquor supply was gone. He didn't come out of his bedroom until the muggleborns had left." Lily remembered this, but she had only been twelve at the time. She didn't know that the girl and Scorpius had been interested in each other.

"So… do you think him being in a relationship with me set it off?" Dominique asked, her voice wavering. "Do you think he's going to break up with me?"

Rose was silent. Lily's heart slammed in her chest, relief seeming to flood her veins. The relief she was feeling was not right, since she had no reason to be relieved, since she had no reason the be worried in the first place. But the mere mention of the possibility of Scorpius breaking up with Dominique made Lily happier than she had been in days.

"Do you?" Dominique demanded.

"I don't know, Dom," Rose finally answered. "I can't be for certain. But if he does, it's probably for the best."

Dominique grew defensive. "_What _are you talking about?"

"Scorpius is…" Rose struggled for words, and Lily momentarily took pleasure in her usual blabber-mouthed cousin's speechlessness. "Scorpius is just… Scorpius, okay? I'm only looking out for you. He's dangerous. Nothing makes him happy, Dominique, and I'm sorry, but you won't either. Scorpius is a lost cause." Dominique opened her mouth to speak, but Rose kept talking. "I know you want to fix him, but Scorpius has made it so he can't be fixed. He's miserable - exactly how he likes it."

Suddenly feeling sick, Lily decided she had heard all she wanted about Scorpius's mental state. She crept back down the hallway, leaving Rose, Dominique, and Dominique's sobs behind her.

…

Lily sat in the armchair in the den as her parents, siblings, and cousins - Draco was absent - eagerly awaited the last minute of the year. Lily observed them, Rose's words still ringing throughout her head. _He's miserable _- _exactly how he likes it. _Lily didn't know why the words had affected her so much. She supposed the thought of Scorpius being _this _sad over something that had happened so long ago hurt to think about, just as it would to anybody. The fact that Scorpius forced himself into the sadness because of his guilt made it even worse.

Everyone seemed so… happy. It did not make any sense to Lily. How could everyone be so happy to bring on the New Year when one of the manor's residents was sitting alone up in his bedroom, doing only Merlin knew what? How could they be happy even _if _Scorpius was in the den with them? What was there to celebrate? Another year of the Death War? Surely not!

Her mother and father stood near the clock, Harry's arm wrapped around Ginny's waist affectionately. It was rare that Lily and her siblings saw Harry and Ginny display any romantic feelings for each other, and though it was rather awkward, it was comforting. Hermione was forcing a party hat on Ron, who looked at the pointy head garment as if it were the most repulsive thing on Earth. Lily couldn't resist smiling a little at Ron's tendency to overreact.

James and Albus were hooting obnoxiously at the clock, cheering at it to go faster. Louis and Hugo were bickering about the importance of one of Hugo's muggle toy cars. Victoire and Teddy stood in a corner, their foreheads pressed together lovingly. Lily looked away, feeling as if she was intruding on something private. Her eyes landed on Hawk, stared into the fire, its flames dancing in his eyes. Lily swallowed, not wanting to think about Hawk, and looked and Dominique and Rose, who had joined them only minutes prior.

The two girls were sitting on the sofa. Dominique sat with Rose beside her, and fiddled with her fingers, a dejected look on her face. She seemed so sad, but Lily could not find it in herself to feel sorry for her cousin. Dominique had done her so many wrongs in the past. Lily would _never _pity Dominique.

The minutes to the New Year crept by slowly, and as they did, Lily began to feel more and more forlorn. What was the point of getting excited over this? It would only be a passing minute, a passing second, and everything was supposed to change? Of course not.

Finally, there was only thirty seconds until the clock would strike midnight. James and Albus became louder, and the excitement in the air seemed to intensify. Ron finally surrendered to the hat, much to Hermione's pleasure, and Lily's parents seemed to be preparing for a New Year's kiss.

Lily watched as Leo trotted in the den and hopped on her lap. She stroked his head softly, continuing to watch her family. Dominique's shoulders seemed to slump lower with each second, and though Lily did not feel sorry for her cousin, she did feel somewhat happy that Dominique seemed to think the New Years Eve tradition was pointless as she thought.

Now, there were only ten seconds. Lily's family began counting down. "Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…" Lily braced herself for the excited screaming that was coming. "Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… _One!_"

Lily's brothers sent of poppers and everyone else cheered, the couples leaning in for brief but tender kisses. Lily lifted Leo so she could see him at eye level and kissed his little whiskers, feeling pathetic. Suddenly, Leo's ears perked and he turned his head to the door. Lily turned just in time to see Scorpius standing in the doorway.

He strode quickly across the room to Dominique. Lily felt like she was the only one watching, since everyone else was so preoccupied with everything else. He pulled her from her spot on the couch, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her straight on the mouth. Lily's stomach seemed to flip. She felt ill. Any sadness she felt for Scorpius was replaced with an unexplainable anger and resentment. But, her fury toward Scorpius was nothing like the fury she felt toward Dominique.

Lily watched and Dominique melted into Scorpius's arms and wound her fingers in his hair. The two seemed so perfect together… Lily wanted to vomit. All of Lily's thoughts seemed to change in that moment. She could not explain it, but as she watched Scorpius and Dominique kiss, she felt a burning jealousy. A very unjustifiable jealousy.

_It would only be a passing minute, a passing second, and everything was supposed to change? Of course not._

Right, if Lily was only that lucky.

**A/N:**

**Sorry that took so long. Sorry for the not very much Lily/Scorpius action… There will be in the next chapter, I swear. There's not very much time left in the boring old manor, so bear with me. **

**I love you for reviewing! **

**I have to go to bed! Goodnight!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**

**PS **

**Sorry if editing is shit. I'm so tired. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Eight:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Daffodil!" Dominique's voice sounded from the door leading back into the manor.

Lily was sitting on the ledge of the tower, watching the stars. It had been a week since New Years and Lily had not felt right since. She was horribly confused and it seemed as if her mind never stopped shouting at her. Lily tore her eyes away from the stars to look at Dominique, who stood in front of the door, tears streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" _Now? _Lily added dully in her mind. Dominique and Rose had not spoken to Lily since New Years Eve. Dominique had been too caught up with Scorpius, to Lily's extreme and unexplainable displeasure, and Rose had found Hermione's old copy of _Hogwarts, A History _and had not taken her nose out of it since.

"That rat of yours tore apart my mother's scarf! It's the only thing I have left of her!"

Even though it was Dominique, Lily left horribly sorry. Yes, Dominique was horrible, but that did not mean she could not feel love. "Dominique…" Lily said, leaping down from the ledge. "I'm so sorry. I really am. I should have been watching him…" Lily suddenly got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. _I should have been watching him… _Where was Leo now? Rose had claimed that if Leo ruined anymore of their stuff she'd drop him from the tower-

Rose suddenly appeared in the doorway, Leo held in her hands. "I warned you, Daffodil!" Rose said as Lily jumped forward to snatch Leo from Rose. Rose held the gray ball of fur out of Lily's reach. Lily cursed herself for being so short.

"Rose, please," Lily begged, tears springing to her eyes. "Please, don't do this! He's only a kitten!" It was almost like déjà vu, watching Rose dart across the space between the door and the ledge. It reminded Lily so much of the time that Rose and Dominique dropped her porcelain doll over the side. Tears sprung to her eyes as she frantically tried to stop Rose. Rose shoved her away with the hand that wasn't holding Leo. The kitten was squirming uncomfortably in Rose's grasp, squeaking, as if he knew what was about to happen.

"Let him go!" Lily yelled. "Please! He doesn't deserve this! He didn't know any better!"

"You should have been watching out for him Daffodil," Rose said mirthlessly. "We warned you. This little bastard tore apart Dominique's _last _piece of Aunt Fleur. How would you feel if some stray apart the last thing you owned of your mother?" Lily stared at Rose, horrified, wondering how she could be so ruthless. Then she looked at Leo, who was looking at her with his big green eyes, as if he were begging Lily to help him.

"If you drop him over the edge, Rose, I swear, I'll make your life hell!" Lily threatened, finally snapping, her tears seeming to disappear in an instant. She had to protect Leo. It was not time to act like a scared little girl. Though she was proud of herself for threatening Rose so opening, she realized almost as soon as the words left her mouth that what she had said was _very _wrong.

"_What _did you just say to me?" Rose asked, an amused sort of sneer coming across her face. "Did you just threaten me, Daffodil?"

Lily, figuring she should just continue on with how she was going, lifted her chin up stubbornly. "Yes."

Rose cupped Leo in both hands and thrust her arms over the edge. Leo wriggled frantically, meowing, his eyes still locked on Lily. Lily shrieked, her brave façade shattering. "Stop it, Rose!" she screamed. "Stop it!" She grasped desperately at her dress, hoping her wand would appear out of nowhere. It didn't. She was trapped, and so was Leo. If Lily laid one finger on Rose, she would drop Leo over the side. Cats could land on their feet, but a fall like that they were _not _meant for. Lily searched frantically for a solution. Her eyes landed on Dominique.

"Dominique, please. He's just a kitten. He didn't mean it."

"He's _your _kitten Daffodil," Dominique said, though she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "We warned you."

"_You're heartless!_" Lily screamed. "Both of you, _heartless!_"

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the light of the doorway. Lily looked up, praying it was one of her brothers, who would surely have their wand on them. They could stop Rose from dropping Leo. They would, wouldn't they?

But, the figure was not one of her brothers. It was Scorpius.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, not even looking at Lily as she stood there, shaking, tears streaming down her face. Lily could not find it in herself to be humiliated. Her kitten was moments away from his death, and she couldn't do anything. She felt so helpless, so horrible… She would never let herself live this down.

"Daffodil's kitten tore apart Dominique's mother's scarf," Rose said matter-of-factly.

"No," Scorpius said, his quiet voice seeming loud in the silence of the night. The only other noises were Lily's ragged breathing and Leo's terrified meows. "What are you _doing?_" Scorpius asked again, stepping through the doorframe. If Lily had been in Rose's place, holding an innocent kitten over the ledge, she would have been terrified at Scorpius's expression. He looked so disgusted, so horrified at what Rose was doing. Rose was only looking at him with an expression of anger.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Scorpius, are you taking Daffodil's side?" Rose asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm taking _Lily's _side," Scorpius said, his hair rustling in the light breeze. Lily knew it was horribly inappropriate, but her heart hammered against her chest. He was standing up for her. He was actually standing up for her. "But not as much as I'm taking that kitten's side," Scorpius added. Lily could tell that he was choosing his words very carefully, trying to avoid making Rose _too _mad. Lily also noticed that he had not looked at Dominique since he came through the door. Lily put her observations on hold when Scorpius began speaking again. "The kitten tore apart a scarf. If _you _tore apart one of my scarves, would that give me the right to drop you over the side of the tallest tower on this manor?"

Rose was staring at Scorpius incredulously, as was Dominique. Lily had a feeling that Dominique was only surprised because Scorpius was not having a raging fit over the now ruined scarf. Lily was rather surprised too… Dominique was his girlfriend after all. "Are you being serious?" Rose demanded, and when Scorpius did not respond she spoke once again. "You're not taking Dominique's side on this? She's your _girlfriend!_"

"She is no such thing," Scorpius said, only glancing at Dominique when she gasped.

There was a moment of very tense silence, the only sounds being Leo's meows. Lily's eyes were darting from Rose, to Scorpius, to Dominique. She had no clue what to expect. Finally, Dominique's ice-cold voice cut through the even colder air. "Drop him."

And Rose did.

Lily screamed, leaning over the edge for some stupid reason. Did she _want _to see her brand new kitten meet his death? Scorpius swore - that being one of the only time Lily heard him swear - and he leapt forward, drawing out his wand as he did so. He shoved Rose away from the ledge, not caring that she hit the ground hard. Lily watched in amazed horror as he leaned over the edge beside her, pointed his wand at the kitten, and yelled, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" He missed. He swore again and Lily's heart fell. Leo's form was getting smaller and smaller, and surely, he'd hit the ground soon.

Scorpius shouted the spell again, and Lily thought that he had missed. But, when Scorpius did not say anymore, Lily looked up from Leo's falling body and saw that Scorpius was concentrating very hard on something. He was focusing on levitating Leo back up to the tower. Lily's breathing was coming in panicky, ragged pants. All it would take was for Rose or Dominique to throw themselves on him for him to break eye contact and for Leo to fall back down to the ground. Lily cursed herself once more for not having her wand.

"Stop it, Scorpius!" Rose said, finally getting back to her feet. "Stop!"

"Keep them back," Scorpius said tightly. It took Lily a moment to realize he was talking to her. "_Keep them back!_" he finally said, more loudly this time. Now Lily understood what he was saying. She placed herself behind Scorpius, so the two were nearly back-to-back. Not quite touching, but almost.

Rose was basically charging at Lily now, and it took everything in Lily's power not to back into Scorpius when Rose slammed into her. Lily shoved Rose off of her, surprising herself with the force she used. Rose snarled angrily, coming at her again. Lily shoved Rose away what seemed like several more times, and before she knew it, Dominique was at it too. "_Scorpius!_" Lily shrieked, unsure how long she'd be able to hold off both girls.

Rose was relentless. Finally, all Lily could do was punch her in the face. Hard.

Blood spurted from her nose. She stumbled backward, holding her hands over her face. Dominique quit trying to attack Lily at once and grabbed her best friend's shoulder. Rose was groaning in agony, and Lily would have felt bad if Rose had not deserved it. But she did, and Lily was proud of herself. "You're…" Dominique sputtered, glaring at Lily was a look of extreme hatred. "You're… disgusting! Scum! How could you did this? She's you're _cousin!_"

Silence followed, the only sound was Scorpius's rough breathing from concentrating so hard. Lily wanted to scream at Dominique, tell her that it was _not _her place to say what Lily should or should not do just because they were family. But, when Lily opened her mouth, her voice quiet and steady. "She's my cousin? _She's _my _cousin? _Is it normal for a cousins to drop each other's kittens over the side of a tower? No. She is nothing to me, Dominique, and neither are you. The day we get out of this manor, I swear to Merlin, I'll never speak to either of you again if I can avoid it. You've made my life miserable for as long as I can remember and I am finished with it!"

"Come on," Rose said to Dominique, her voice muffled by her hands, avoiding Lily's gaze. "Let's get out of here. I have to stop the bleeding."

With that, the two girls left without another word. Lily wanted to go after them, scream at them, throw another punch. But Leo needed her, and apparently, so did Scorpius. He was breathing raggedly, and his face was now sticky with sweat. Lily peered over the edge, and saw that Leo was rising at a snail's pace back up to them. "My hair is falling in my face," Scorpius said, his voice strained. "If it does, it'll cover my eyes and I'll lose eye contact."

Lily stared blankly at him for a moment, noting that his hair was indeed about to fall into his face. "So…"

"Push it back!" Scorpius snapped through clenched teeth.

Lily's face turned red, but she obeyed quickly. She reached up, careful not to move her hand anywhere across his eyes, and pushed the platinum blond hair up, tucking what strands she could behind his ear. Lily's fingers were oddly shaky as she ran her hands through his soft hair. Scorpius's shoulders seemed to tense when she did so, but she dismissed it for having to increase his concentration to keep Leo steady.

"Not your best spell?" Lily asked lightly, looking over the edge again, glad that Scorpius could not see her flaming face.

Scorpius laughed - a short, forced sounding thing. "No," he answered. "Never been able to perform charms well… Jinxes… hexes… those are my specialty. Your brothers would be better suit…" He clenched his teeth when his arm wavered, steadying himself. "Your brothers would be better suit for this." He was quiet for a long moment. "It would be easier if your kitten wasn't moving around."

But finally - _finally _- Leo reached the top of the tower. Scorpius caught the kitten clumsily, dropping his wand on the ground. Scorpius held him up to examine him at eye-level. "You're a fidgety little bastard, aren't you?" he asked, and Leo meowed back in response. Lily watched in awe as Scorpius held the kitten, unable to stop her heart from fluttered wildly. Scorpius Malfoy, rescuing a kitten… Who could have imagined? "Right, then," Scorpius said, handing Leo to Lily. "Back to your mum."

Lily cradled Leo to her chest and kissed his little forehead. It was only when Scorpius swooped down to pick up his wand and began to walk away that she looked back up to him. "Scorpius?" she asked. He turned back to face her, already stepping back through the door.

He raised a delicate eyebrow, waiting for her to continue speaking.

"Thank you…" Lily said, praying she would not start to cry. "Thank you for saving him. And… I'm sorry what happened with Dominique. I really am," she added.

Scorpius leaned back up against the doorframe, sliding his hands into his pant pockets. "I'm not. I cannot be in a relationship with somebody who would so ruthlessly kill something so innocent." Instantly, Lily thought of Scorpius's mother. She was killed because she was a Malfoy through marriage. She was an innocent who was ruthlessly killed.

"It was Rose who dropped him," Lily said quietly.

"It was Dominique who told her to," Scorpius responded, pushing himself back up from the doorframe. "Goodnight, Lily."

"Goodnight, Scorpius," Lily responded, unsure if he had heard her or not.

Then he was gone.

Lily waited a few moments to go back inside the manor. When she was by the door, she looked up at the stars once more for the night, holding a purring Leo closely to her chest. She thought of Scorpius's previous words. _I cannot be in a relationship with somebody who would so ruthlessly kill something so innocent._

It was only when she was back in her bedroom, the door locked, and curled up in bed with Leo beside her that she thought of something that was crucial to breaking through to Scorpius.

Though Scorpius's words reminded Lily of his mother's death, it did not entirely mean that he was referencing it. Maybe Scorpius was an innocent himself. Maybe he was not willing to overlook something so cruel, not only because that was what it was - cruel - but because he could not bear to be romantically involved with someone who was willing to kill the innocent to get revenge. Maybe that's just who Scorpius _was, _whether it had to do with his mother or not.

**A/N:**

**Wow, that chapter came to me so naturally. I LOVE when that happens. **

**Lily punched Rose in the face, oh yeah! She touched Scorpius's hair, oh yeah! (: **

**Okay, so things are going to start picking up now. I promise, promise, promise! Bear with me here.**

**Man, it seems like Rose just got all the bad parts of Hermione and Ron… haha. **

**Anything you liked about this chapter? Quotes, moments, etc? Any predictions? Let me know! **

**Thanks for reviewing! I love you all so much!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Nine:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"But, mum, it was for a good reason, I swear-" Lily started for what seemed like the trillionth time. It was the morning after the incident on the tower, and it did not take long for Rose to go running to Ron and Hermione and tell them that Lily punched her. Hermione had then told Harry, who had told Ginny. Now, Lily, her parents, her aunt and uncle, Rose, Dominique, and Lily's brothers were gathered in the den. Lily did not know where the rest of the residents were, but she was glad they had decided not to add to the audience.

At first, Lily had not been worried. Surely, the adults would believe Lily when she told them that Rose had tried to drop Leo from the tower. But, apparently, dropping kitten from a tower was not something a normal teenager did for revenge. So, the adults took Rose's side when she sobbed about how Lily had punched her square in the nose. Rose claimed Lily had done it for no reason, that she had came around the corner, simply swung back her, and crushed her fist against Rose's face.

"Lily Luna," Ginny said crossly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do not try to make excuses about this!" She turned to Harry for help.

"Lily," Harry said from spot on the sofa. He rubbed his eyes behind his glasses and looked at his daughter, who sat in her usual armchair. "What I don't understand is why you're making this up."

"Dad," Lily said, hurt at the fact her father of all people did not believe her. "I'm not lying."

"Where's your proof?" Hermione demanded, from her spot beside Rose, who sat in the sofa across from Harry. Hermione stroked Rose's hair when she sniffed and whimpered at the pain from her nose - which should have been gone, since Hawk had fixed it first thing that morning. Dominique, on the other side of Rose, held her best friend's hand firmly. Whenever the adults weren't paying attention the two girls would shoot daggers at Lily.

"I…" The only proof Lily had was Scorpius, and Scorpius was no where to be found.

"None!" Hermione snapped. "You have absolutely none. I would have thought better of you, Lily-"

"It is _not _your job to chasten my daughter, Hermione," Ginny said strongly. James and Albus, who were standing in the corner snickering every so often made cat noises. Lily ignored them, her heart flying. Was her mother _finally _taking her side? Ginny glanced down at Lily, and the look in her eyes told Lily that no, she still did not believe that Rose had dropped Leo from the tower.

Finally, Lily snapped. "_I _don't have any proof?" she demanded. "What about Rose? Where's her proof?" Though Lily _did _punch Rose in the face, pointing out that Rose did not have proof of it might make the adults rethink…

"Her nose is proof!" Ron said angrily from behind the couch Rose was sitting on, making Lily flinch. "If anyone in this house had a reason to punch Rose, it would be you! But you should not have! You and Rose have had a rocky past, yes, Lily, but she's apologized every single time she's done you wrong!"

Hysteric laughter bubbled up in Lily's throat. "Really? Where was I when any of this happened?"

"_What _has gotten into you, Lily?" Ginny demanded. "You're not acting like yourself at all-"

Lily snapped again. "Why am I not acting like myself, mum?" Lily asked loudly, standing up from the armchair. "_Why? _Because I am _sick and tired _of being treated like I'm scum on the ground! I am completely finished with Rose and Dominique pushing me around all the time just because I am two years younger than them! I don't understand why they treat me the way they do, which only justifies why I should not put up with it! I was never anything but nice to them, and _I am completely finished!_" Her voice had risen to a shout. The room fell silent. Even James and Albus stopped making snide little comments.

"That still does not give us any proof-" Hermione began quietly.

"For the love of-" Lily began angrily, her temper exploding.

"_I'm _proof," a new voice cut it, and Lily whirled around to see Scorpius standing at the entrance of the den, his hair disheveled - or more disheveled than usual - and his clothing crumpled, as if he had fallen asleep in them. If she had not been so angry, Lily would have blushed when Scorpius made himself known. But, Lily was fuming. She was relieved that Scorpius was there so he could prove Rose dropped Leo over the side of the tower, but she was too worked up to _really _care that much.

Scorpius began to speak again before anyone could say anything. "I heard the girls arguing up on the tower last night, so I went up there to make sure they weren't trying to kill each other," he said. Lily vaguely noted that he made another death reference. "When I was in the doorway, Rose was holding the kitten over the side of the tower. Dominique, Rose and I…" he paused. "We exchanged some rather… _wrathful _words. Dominique told Rose to drop Leo over the side of the tower, and Rose did. It was probably my fault that they dropped the kitten, but-"

"No it wasn't," Lily said automatically. She was _not _going to let Scorpius blame himself for Leo being dropped over the edge of the tower because he said Dominique was not his girlfriend. It was entirely Dominique and Rose's fault.

Scorpius offered her a small smile as he leaned up against the archway of the den. He seemed to be trying to avoid looking at Dominique and Rose's betrayed faces. Lily would have, too. They looked _livid. _

"If Rose dropped the cat over the edge," Hermione began, "surely, it would be dead. I saw the cat scurrying down the corridors this morning. It is most definitely _not _dead." Though Hermione's logic was sound, she had a confused expression across her face. Scorpius _never _lied, especially to the adults. And, of course, the adults were probably wondering why Scorpius would have a reason to lie for Lily.

"Scorpius levitated it back up," Lily said. "Which is why I had to punch Rose in the face. I was keeping her away from Scorpius. Scorpius had to focus on his spell, and if Rose or Dominique had thrown themselves on him, he would be forced to look away from Leo. Then Leo would fall. And die."

There was a moment of tense silence, and finally, Harry sighed and looked up at Scorpius. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Scorpius replied without hesitation.

Rose groaned and stood up, Dominique right behind her. "What the hell, Scorpius? You threw us under the bus!"

"What's a bus?" Lily heard Albus ask from his and James's spot in the corner.

"Why would somebody_ throw _you under it?" James wondered.

Scorpius shrugged in response to Rose's accusation. "I was never interested in tormenting Lily. I could have only 'thrown you under the bus' if I was in league with you." He looked at Lily's parents. "Mrs. Potter, Mr. Potter… Lily was only trying to defend herself." Scorpius turned to Ron and Hermione. "I'm sorry your daughter was hurt in the process, but I'm sure that you agree a broken nose - which is easily fixable - is better than the death of a kitten."

Rose turned to her parents, panicked. "Mum, dad… You can't possibly believe him."

Hermione looked extremely disappointed. Not just that… but, disgusted. Not with her daughter as a person, of course, but of her actions. "Rose, you just admitted to it. When you said Scorpius threw you under the bus, you basically said you _did _drop the kitten over the side of the tower."

Rose look flabbergasted with herself. "_What? _I didn't- No- _Daddy!_" She looked at her father, but he seemed to be speechless. Rose turned back to her mother, her eyes filled with tears. "Mum, please, I didn't-"

"Go up to your room, Rose," Hermione said.

"Mum-"

"_Go._"

Rose stood up and stormed out of the room, brushing roughly past Scorpius as she did so. He avoided her gaze, not even flinching when she leaned up and whispered something that was probably a threat in his ear. Dominique watched her go, and as soon as she was out of the room she started spluttering things - anything that might keep Rose out of trouble. "Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron… Please, don't do this…"

"You don't even know what her punishment is Dominique," Ron said.

"But-"

"You'll be punished too," Hermione said. "Go up to your bedroom."

"You're not-"

"You will _not _say that we don't have any authority over you, do you hear me?" Hermione snapped. "Go up to your bedroom, and do not leave until I tell you that you can."

Dominique put up a feeble fight, but finally, she left.

Lily did not speak when her parents apologized to her, and only gave her brothers a small smile when they ruffled her hair and left the room after their parents. Ron and Hermione also apologized to her, and swore they'd make it up to her. She still did not speak. She did not want to talk to anybody. The only people left in the den were her and Scorpius. When he did not talk, Lily stood up.

As she was walking past him, he grabbed her elbow. She looked up at him, shocked at the sudden contact. He paid no attention to her surprised expression. "Meet me in the music room tonight."

Lily paused for only a moment, but finally, she nodded and continued walking past him, trying to ignore her heart that was pounding against her chest.

…

Lily left her bedroom and went back to it three times before she finally decided that she had no choice but to go to the music room. She had promised Scorpius she would. Though she was incredibly confused over why he asked her to meet him there, she felt obligated - not in a bad way - to stick to her promise.

So, now she was walking down the corridor that held the music room, Leo cradled in her arms. He was looking up at her confused. "I don't know," Lily whispered to the kitten. "I don't know why he wants us to come and see him." Leo meowed back in response nuzzling his head into the cotton of her dress. "Well, it probably doesn't matter much to you, does it?" Lily asked him, and when he did not meow back, she figured she was talking to an animal who did not understand her or Leo just did not care.

Lily could hear Scorpius's music long before she had entered the music room corridor, but it was only at that moment that she realized she recognized the tune. It was the one he had been playing the night Lily had fallen asleep in the armchair by the window.

When she finally reached the music room, she looked through the crack in the door. Scorpius looked more put together than he did that morning. His hair was laying somewhat flat, and his clothes were no longer crumpled. His fingers trailed up and down the piano, his body tensing and relaxing at different parts of the song. There was something about Scorpius's playing that felt so familiar to Lily now, even though she had only seen him play a few times. It was so comforting… But the confusion that comfort caused scared Lily more than she thought possible.

"You can come in," Scorpius said, not bothering to turn and look at her. "You know, Lily, this peering through the cracked door without saying anything is starting to seem rather… stalker-ish_._"

Lily flushed and stumbled into the room, getting an irritated meow from Leo at her abruptness. "Sorry. Oh, Merlin, that is creepy, isn't it? Just standing there in the doorway, looking at you like some weird… _person. _Sorry," she said again. Lily nearly yelped when Leo jumped out of her arms and scurried across the floor, hopped up onto the bench beside Scorpius, and curled up near his leg.

Scorpius stopped playing and eyed the kitten uneasily. "Just because I saved your life doesn't mean you can climb all over me," he told Leo, and Leo didn't even open his eyes. He only sighed contentedly. Scorpius finally looked up at Lily. "Your kitten is sleeping on me."

"He's sleeping _beside _you," Lily said, finally regaining her composure from Scorpius's comment about her seeming to be a stalker. She found her spot on the armchair by the window and stared pointedly at Scorpius, as if to ask him why he had insisted she meet him there.

"I was joking," Scorpius said, continuing to play.

"_What?_" Lily asked, her cheeks flaming once again. Did Scorpius just say he was joking about asking her to meet him? She was humiliated… Completely humiliated… She had never felt so-

"About the stalker thing. I know you're not a stalker," he said, his fingers moving quicker than Lily thought was possible up the piano.

Lily nearly sighed in relief. "Oh. Oh, okay. I know." There was a pause before Lily spoke again. "So… why did you ask me to meet you up here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Scorpius said simply. Lily's heart stammered.

"Really?" she practically squeaked.

"Of course," Scorpius said, oblivious to her nervousness. He _did _seem to be avoiding her gaze, though. "I mean… I felt horrible that I didn't know your parents and aunt and uncle were going at you like that. If I would have known they were not going to believe you, I would have told them what happened before Rose got to them. I only heard when you started shouting about how Rose and Dominique basically ruined your life… I was sleeping, by the way. You woke me up." He waved away Lily's apologizes before he continued speaking. "I practically fell out of my bed and ran downstairs. I didn't want you to get punished for something that wasn't your fault."

"Oh…" Lily said, her voice nearly a whisper. She mentally kicked herself. _Pull yourself together!_ she thought frantically. "Well, you got there just in the nick of time… So don't worry about it." She searched for something else to say, anything else. "It was the second time in twenty-four hours that you rescued me from extreme consequences… So, thank you."

"I helped name the cat, didn't I? Of course, I should take _some _responsibility over his wellbeing…"

Lily was quiet for a long time, only watching Scorpius play. He was so kind. Lily felt a horrible guilt over how she used to think of him. She used to think he was so weird and unusual. It wasn't _him _who was weird and unusual, it was his circumstances. He watched his mother get murdered, and then almost directly after was whisked away to some unknown manor filled with people he didn't know. Of course, now he knew them. He had lived there for his whole life, minus the first four years. Lily was disgusted with herself for thinking he, as a person, was so weird.

As Lily watched Scorpius's fingers move up and down the piano so fast with so much grace, she was overcome with curiosity. "How do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" Scorpius asked, glancing up at her.

"Go up and down the piano so fast?" she responded, praying she did not sound like an idiot.

Scorpius was silent, until finally, he slid to one side of the bench. Leo gave an irritated meow. "Sit down," Scorpius said, gesturing to the spot beside him. "Hurry, or your kitten will steal it." Lily eyed the spot hesitantly. "Go on, sit. I'm not going to bite you."

Lily had to shove any thoughts of Scorpius's mouth near her body away as she stood up and walked to the piano, only to sit on the bench beside Scorpius. They were so close, their arms were nearly touching. "So," Scorpius began, "it takes a lot of practice. Well, sort of. You just have to get used to the keys."

"Okay," Lily said softly, the fact that she was sitting on Scorpius's piano bench right beside him finally seeming to register in her thoughts. She clenched her teeth, begging the flush that was on her face to go away.

"Start on Middle C," Scorpius said.

"Er…" Lily cleared her throat. "Where's that, exactly?"

"Oh, sorry," Scorpius said. The two seemed so formal sitting there on the bench together. Their backs were both stiff as a board, and they both seemed to be trying to keep their arms from touching. "It comes so naturally to me now, I just expect other people to know…" He laughed a little breathlessly, and pressed his index finger on a note roughly in the middle of the piano, to the left of a black key. "Put your thumb there."

Lily lifted her left hand to place her thumb on what was Middle C and-

"Wait," Scorpius reached out quickly and grabbed her hand, almost immediately dropping it once he realized what he had done. Lily waited for him to speak, startled. "Sorry," Scorpius apologized again. "Are you left handed?"

Lily nodded mutely.

"I guess I should have told you we were working with the right hand," he said, almost to himself. "Thumb of your right hand there," he said, pointing at Middle C again.

Lily pressed her thumb on her right hand onto the key.

"Now, index finger is on D, to the right of Middle C," Scorpius said. Lily placed her index finger on what was apparently D. "Good. Middle finger on E, to the right of D. Thumb under to F - that's right - now the index finger is on G… Middle finger on A - good - now your ring finger is on B, right next to A. Then, your smallest finger is on the next C. See, practically a natural," he praised Lily as he echoed her on the octave above the C she ended on.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, I'm the another Beethoven in the making."

Scorpius grinned one of his rare grins and began playing again. Lily would have said more, but she was entranced - yet again - by his playing. She was still sitting beside him, so she could watch his facial expression better than she could when she was sitting in the armchair. The music _did _seem to come naturally to him; he was not exaggerating. Telling by his expression, he hardly had to focus on the keys, only on what he was going to play next.

Lily looked down at his hands, and for some untellable reason, her eyes landed on the cuffs of his sleeves. It did not take her long to see that his sleeve was riding up, but that was not what her attention was on. There was a scar - not an old one - swirling up from his wrist and on to the top of his hand. It was only when he reached across her that his sleeve slid up one quarter of his arm that she saw there were several more scars like the first one she saw - some older and some newer - coming up from the bottom of his arm. Scorpius seemed to notice that those mysterious scars were showing because he very quickly and discretely - if Lily had not been paying such close attention, she would have thought he was playing like normal - pulled his hand back in front of him so his sleeve would cover his wrist again.

Lily did not say or ask anything, but the tension in Scorpius's shoulders told her that she had seen something he did not want her to see, something he did not want anyone to see.

Eventually, Scorpius relaxed again, but Lily did not stop thinking about those scars. She wondered how he had gotten them and why they looked so new. What she assumed, she did not want to even think. So, she tried not to. She stayed and listened to Scorpius until he stopped playing.

He played until dawn.

**A/N:**

**Oh, man. Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius. **

**Thanks for all the positive feedback on the last chapter! I love you guys! **

**Okay. Any predictions? Anything you liked about this chapter? Quotes, moments, etc? Let me know!**

**I'm going to bed. Goodnight!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Ten:**

**Lily Potter II: **

Weeks had passed since Scorpius had invited Lily to join him in the music room, and Lily had ended up there each night since. There departure from the music room the morning after Lily had seen Scorpius's scars was rather awkward. Lily and Scorpius had exchanged a few words before they went their separate ways so the adults would not find them there together - which would surely rise suspicion - but they had not agreed on Lily meeting him there a second time. Lily had wanted to, of course, but she stayed in her room, figuring that any connection she had with Scorpius would disappear over time.

But… Scorpius had shown up at her bedroom door, his eyes glinting with that amusement Lily had become accustomed to over their nights spent together in the music room, but still did not fully understand, asking her if she wanted to learn the rest of the C scale on the piano. She had grinned and nodded, laughing when Leo darted out of her bedroom and rubbed his head on Scorpius's legs. The two had walked to the music room together in silence, and once they were there, Lily took her spot on the bench beside Scorpius just as she had the night before.

Since then, the two had spent every night together. It was strange, because if Lily had told someone that exact combination of words, they would be appalled, most definitely getting the wrong idea. That was the reason she had not told anybody about it, plus, she had no reason to. The only time Lily and Scorpius spoke was in the music room at night, and she was perfectly fine with that. They went along with their business during the day - sitting apart from each other at lessons, passing each other in the corridors without speaking, not acknowledging each other at dinner. Scorpius had claimed that the only reason he did not talk to her outside of the music room was because he didn't want Rose and Dominique giving Lily anymore trouble than they already had. Surely, if they found out Scorpius and Lily spent their nights in the music room together, they would torment Lily forever about it. Secretly, Lily thought that it was rubbish, but she did not want to damage the odd and fragile friendship she shared with him.

There was something so different about Scorpius, which Lily felt silly thinking. She had only ever known her brothers and male cousins when it came to boys, so certainly she had no way of knowing what was different and what wasn't. There was just something so… intriguing about him. He was a boy with a dark past- no, with a dark past, living in a dark present, and by the way he acted, expected to have a dark future. But, despite all that and the hard protective armor he kept around himself, it was made obvious to Lily that he was incredibly gentle and kind.

Just by helping Lily with the instance where Rose dropped Leo from the tower with really having no reason to - aside from saving an innocent kitten - showed that Scorpius was not what he tried to make himself out to be. Unapproachable, unpredictable, and telling by some of the strange things he had said during his and Lily's time in the music room together… dangerous. He was none of those things and the fact that he tried so hard to make Lily believe he was drove her insane. It didn't make any sense. He kept her at arms length all the time, never letting her in, but would not hesitate to ask Lily personal questions about herself.

But, Lily could not get all strange and clingy over their friendship. She felt compelled to learn more about Scorpius, and information about him would only come in time. He had to be ready to talk to her, and asking him to would only push him farther away. Lily would not be able to bear losing her only friend at the manor, her only friend besides Roxanne ever-

"Lily?" Hawk's sharp voice cut into her thoughts. "Lily, for Merlin's sake, pay attention, girl!"

She snapped her head up. Lily had been staring blankly at a scrape on the oak table, lost in her thoughts. All of the student residents were watching her, except for Scorpius who was scribbling down whatever was on the rolling chalkboard and Rose, who had refused to look at Lily since the morning after the tower incident.

Lily's cheeks colored. Hawk was eyeing her with a little _too _much annoyance, and Lily could not help but feel that there something more behind that annoyance than the simple anger he felt about Lily not paying attention. "Sorry, sir," Lily mumbled. "I… er… I don't know what you asked me, Mr. Hawk. I didn't hear you."

Hawk sighed, frustrated. "I didn't ask you anything, Lily."

"Oh."

Hawk pointedly turned his back to Lily. Unconsciously, Lily's slumped her shoulders. Hawk, oblivious to her rejected posture, was speaking about patronuses. "A patronus is much more than a protector and a messenger. It is a sign of somebody's past, present, and in some cases, someone's character. A patronus can be passed down from parent to offspring, as we know." His eyes landed on Albus, whose patronus took the form of a stag, as his father's and grandfather's did. "Living here at the manor, there is not really any reason to use a patronus, so most of you have hardly practiced the art of producing one. Today, we are going to be demonstrating our patronuses-"

Suddenly, Scorpius looked up from his parchment. Though his face showed nothing, his eyes revealed what Lily thought was… dread? "Sir," Scorpius said. Lily noted that he was struggling to keep his tone leveled when he continued speaking. "I'm incapable of producing a patronus-"

"You know as well as I do that you _are _capable, Mr. Malfoy," Hawk said, not making eye contact with Scorpius, who was staring intently at his instructor. Lily watched their exchange closely, wondering what exactly it was that made Scorpius so reluctant to produce a patronus. "Even if you were incapable of producing one, Mr. Malfoy, practice makes perfect."

"Sir," Albus intervened, surprising Lily. Albus and Scorpius were best friends and though she did not see them together often, Lily knew Albus was oddly protective over Scorpius, just as Rose was. "If Scorpius isn't comfortable producing a patronus today, I can tutor him. It won't be a problem." Scorpius looked at Albus, and Albus looked back at him. The two boys exchanged silent words, and Lily longed to know what they were.

"No, but thank you, Mr. Potter," Hawk said. "During exams last year, Scorpius's patronus was more than satisfactory."

"Then why are you making me do this?" Scorpius's voice was like ice. Lily turned her gaze back to him, shocked. Lily had heard that voice before, but he had never used it on Hawk. Scorpius treated Hawk almost as formally as he treated his father, for the most part.

"Because, you are a student just as everyone else here. You will not get special treatment because of your… _superstitions, _Mr. Malfoy," Hawk said flatly.

"Sir-" Albus began, his eyes flickering between Scorpius and Hawk.

"That is _enough, _Mr. Potter," Hawk said. "Why don't you start us off?" he suggested to Lily's brother. Albus stood up, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder apologetically.

"My patronus is a stag," Albus announced unnecessarily. Everyone knew what Albus's patronus was - the day he had produced it for the first time, he had proudly announced it at dinner.

Albus whipped his wand out of his back pocket - which earned him a disapproving look from Hawk - and held it in front of him. "_Expecto Patronum!_" Albus said firmly, his eyes flickering with some happy memory, swishing his wand and directing it toward an open spot near the chalkboard. A silver stag burst from the tip of his wand and galloped over to the space Albus had his wand pointed at. Albus watched the stag fondly for a moment before lowering. The stag trotted away, behind a bookshelf, and Albus watched it go.

"Great, isn't he?" Albus asked, sitting down, and placing his hands on the table nonchalantly. Only Lily could see the stiff set of his shoulders and the glances he kept shooting Scorpius, who was sitting straight up, his head tilted down slightly, his eyes focused on the wand that sat on the table in front of him. Lily's confusion intensified. It was only a patronus… What was making Scorpius so rigid?

"Rose," Hawk said. "Would you care to go next?"

Rose, who had been watching the exchange between Albus and Scorpius as well, stood up. "Yes, sir." It was only when Rose raised her wand that Lily realized she had not seen Rose's patronus before… Or anyone else's for that matter, aside from her brothers. Hawk did not teach the children how to produce patronuses - he had claimed that having the children teach it to themselves would be good for them to grow as a person. He tested them privately after the time for learning it was up, and had not spoken of the patronuses until that day.

Rose spoke the incantation, and a rooster exploded from the wand. Lily resisted the urge to snort. What a lame animal to have as a patronus. But, Lily supposed it suited Rose well. Roosters were mean and territorial, so it was not surprising that Rose ended up with it.

After Rose went Dominique, whose patronus took the form of a white stallion. Lily did not know what to think of Dominique's patronus, only that it was beautiful, like Dominique. Lily felt a pang of annoyance. _Of course _Dominique would get a gorgeous, perfect patronus. She got everything else, didn't she?

"Lily," Hawk said, turning back to Lily for the first time since he had lectured her for not paying attention. "Would you go next, please?"

Lily stood up, almost forgetting to pick her wand up from its spot on the table. She looked for a happy memory that would bring about her patronus, and just as she was getting ready to use the memory of sitting out in the courtyard with her father looking at the stars, another memory took its place. It was the night Scorpius helped Lily name Leo.

Finally, the memory clear in her head, Lily swished her wand and said, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

It was not until Lily's nightingale flew from the tip of her wand and fluttered around the room that she _finally _realized why Scorpius was so uneasy about revealing his patronus to everyone. Your patronus told so much about you, and for Scorpius - who was more reserved than anybody else Lily knew - it had to be excruciating to let someone see so much of you in just one incantation.

Lily's delicate nightingale flew through the different bookshelves and around each of students before flying straight through a window. Lily's eyes landed on Scorpius, and for once, he was not looking down at the table. He was watching where the nightingale had disappeared, a look on his face that shocked and confused Lily more than any of his other actions that day.

He wore a look of utter horror.

Before Lily could even process a thought, Hawk said, "Very good, Lily. To be honest, I am surprised you can cast a patronus so well, especially since your ability to focus seems to be lacking lately." He gave her a knowing look. Lily flushed and Rose and Dominique had the nerve to snicker. "Scorpius, please demonstrate your patronus," Hawk finally said.

Lily watched Scorpius carefully as he took a deep breath, stood up, and held his wand out in front of him. Lily thought she saw his hand tremble as he lifted up his wand, but she had to have imagined it. Albus was watching Scorpius just as intently as Lily was, an unidentifiable nervousness showing in his eyes. Lily was so confused that her head was beginning to throb.

After one more deep breath, Scorpius spoke the words, _"Expecto Patronum!"_

The silver figure seemed to burst from Scorpius's wand in slow motion, but as it did a thousand emotions crossed Scorpius face. Happiness, probably from the memory he used to conjure his figure, impatience, disappointment, but mostly shame. Lily was concentrating so hard on Scorpius's facial expressions that she nearly forgot to look at the shape of the patronus. At first, Lily thought it was just an ordinary bird, nothing special about it. But then, she saw that it was a raven. A very scary looking raven.

The patronus disappeared as quickly as Scorpius conjured it, mainly because as soon as it had exploded from his wand, Scorpius had lowered it and sat back down, not even acknowledging its presence. Lily's confusion was nearly breaking her, so she was incredibly relieved when Hawk said Hugo and Louis could perform their patronuses tomorrow and dismissed them.

Lily was almost free, but…

"Lily, I need to speak with you," Hawk said. As he spoke these words, Scorpius had gathered his things and stalked out of the library faster than Lily had ever seen him move before, Albus right on his heels. Dominique and Rose took their time leaving, Louis and Hugo trailing behind them.

Once everyone was gone, Hawk began his lecture. "Lily, do you remember what I told you?"

Lily sighed, slumping in her seat. "Yes, Mr. Hawk. I need to make amends with Dominique and Rose."

"Then why haven't you done it?" Hawk demanded, his dark eyes practically piercing Lily with their intensity.

Lily's temper flared so fast that it almost frightened her. When had she gotten so angry? "You know perfectly well why I haven't, sir," she snapped. Hawk did not look surprised at her sudden ferocity. "They are the epitome of horrible, and do not even try to tell me otherwise! They have never had any reason to be so cruel to me! Why can't _they _be the one to make the peace?"

"For precisely the reason you just listed, Lily!" Hawk said, slamming his hand down on the table. Lily flinched. "Be the bigger person. The bigger person does _not _play the victim."

"But I _am _the victim!" Lily shouted, which seemed incredibly out of place since Hawk had only raised his voice slightly. She lowered her voice, her cheeks coloring. "Mr. Hawk, you act as if it is my fault. _They _made me the victim, I didn't. I was only ever nice to them, and they went over the top when they dropped Leo over the side of the tower." She was silent for a moment, waiting for Hawk to answer. When he didn't, Lily continued. "I refuse to make amends."

"It is ultimately your choice, but trust me, you will regret not making those amends now."

"Who says I will ever make amends? Didn't I just tell you I never would?" Lily demanded, surprised that she was being so disrespectful to her teacher.

"Oh, Lily," Hawk sighed, shuffling some parchment on the table around, his silver hair escaping from the tie that held it at the nape of his neck and falling around his face. "You are so smart, yet so naïve. You will learn so much in the months to come."

Lily instantly got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What months to-"

"Leave now, Lily."

"Mr. Hawk-"

"_Leave, _please."

And so Lily did, not knowing it was the last time she would ever speak to Hawk again.

…

Lily exited the library, feeling as if she was about to vomit. _You will learn so much in the months to come. _What had Hawk meant? Did he mean that lessons were going to intensify over the next few months or something entirely different? Something that had nothing to do with schooling?

Lily longed to speak to Scorpius. She had not forgotten the first time she had spoken to Hawk about making amends with Rose and Dominique. Scorpius had been eavesdropping, and though she had not discussed it with him, surely he found meaning behind the conversation she had with Hawk. Lily did not care that she and Scorpius hardly spoke of anything that held any importance, she would ask him what he knew when she saw him that night in the music room.

Just as Lily was rounding the corner that would lead her to the den, she heard Albus's urgent voice down the hall. "You have to snap out of this, Scorpius," he was saying. Lily darted back around the corner and peered around it. Scorpius was standing with his back against the wall, and Albus stood in front of him with a firm grip on his shoulder. Lily could not help but compare the boys. Her brother, with his dark hair and green eyes. Scorpius, with his light hair and silver eyes. The only thing that was similar about them were their height and their pale complexion, nothing else.

Albus continued speaking when Scorpius did not answer. "The raven says _nothing _about your past, present, or future. Hawk is a crazy old man, you know that. I know that. Everybody knows that."

"He may be crazy," Scorpius said tightly. "But so am I, you know that. I know that. Everybody knows that," he echoed Albus's previous words and laughed, sounding a little manic. Lily cringed as Scorpius's voice turned sharp. "A raven represents death_, _Albus. Illness. _War._ Do I need to remind you what happened to my mother? That dreadful case of pneumonia you had years ago that I thought you were going to die from? Or how our parents go to battle on a regular basis?" He spoke each word in a hiss, his bodying seeming to stiffen as each one left his mouth.

"It is a coincidence, Scorpius-" Albus began, straining to keep his voice even.

"No. It's _not._" Scorpius spat the words. If Lily could see them, she would see bitterness dripping form them."My patronus relates directly to me. Just as your patronus relates directly to you." Albus opened his mouth to speak, but Scorpius silenced him. "Don't interrupt me! Your stag is just like you. You're strong, capable, trustworthy. You can do no wrong, Albus."

"Scorpius, you are being unreasonable." Albus was struggling to stay calm, and if Lily was being completely honest, so was she. As Albus tried to reason with Scorpius, Lily watched as he slowly lost his grip on reality. She could see it in his eyes. Pain mixed with the desire to be good. If only he knew he was.

Lily's heart hammered against her chest as she saw the Scorpius she knew disappear into nothingness. It reminded her of when a raindrop hit a window and how it would slide down the glass until the trail of water disappeared. _So this is what happens when he's up in his room for ages, _Lily thought. _Only nobody ever gets to see it._

"I am not being unreasonable," Scorpius said quietly. "Not in the least. You see it. Do not tell me any different, because I see it in your eyes. You saw Rose's rooster and how it relates to her. You saw Dominique's stallion. For the love of Merlin, the solid proof was right out in the open when your sister conjured her nightingale!"

"What are you _talking _about?" Albus demanded, seeming to finally snap. "You don't think I've researched this stuff after the night you produced your patronus the first time?" Scorpius tried to turn away, probably to walk away from Albus. Albus jerked him back to where he was. "Don't act like you don't remember. I was _there._" Lily raised her eyebrows. Albus had been there the night Scorpius had produced his first patronus? "A raven does not only represent death! You only look at what you want to see. You look at what you know will torture you and ignore what might offer you relief!"

"You know _nothing _about me." Scorpius's tone washed over Lily like ice water and he wasn't even speaking to her. She could see the pain on Albus's face, but her older brother trudged on, determined to force sense into Scorpius.

"You would be surprised," Albus said, his voice equally as cold. Lily could tell from the glint in Albus's eyes that he was walking on dangerous territory. Despite this knowledge, she was still shocked at the words that came out of her brother's mouth. "That night you brought that razor a little _too _close to-"

"_Shut. Up,_" Scorpius sneered, his eyes clamped shut. "You promised you'd never bring that up-"

"I promised I wouldn't as long as you promised not to do it again." He dropped his voice lower. Lily had to strain herself to hear. "I found bloody rags in the bathroom, Scorpius. They were soaked with blood. You were being careless, leaving them there in the waste basket. Do I even need to ask if you were drunk?" Albus raised an eyebrow. When Scorpius didn't answer, Albus sighed. "You're going to kill yourself one day, Scorpius. You claimed that it isn't your intention, and I believed you for a long time. But now… _now _I'm starting to think differently."

Albus turned away from Scorpius and walked down the corridor. Before he turned the corner to the den, he stopped and turned around. "You said you were crazy…" he said. "But, trust me, Scorpius, you're not. If you _were _crazy, you wouldn't know." Then Albus was gone.

Lily waited for Scorpius to follow after him, but he didn't. He slid down the wall and covered his face with hands. Lily wondered if he'd yell out, swear, anything… But he didn't. He made no noise. It had been a good while before Lily finally turned around and walked back the way she came.

…

"Lily, get up," Albus's voice sounded from her bedroom door. Lily had been laying face down on her bed, replaying the conversation she had just heard between Albus and Scorpius. She sat straight up, worried that Albus knew Lily had overheard them.

"What?"

"Mum and dad are leaving, come say goodbye." Lily recognized the tone in Albus's voice at once. It was true. They _were _leaving. But… so suddenly? Why? "Hurry," Albus said impatiently as Lily got to her feet and met him by the door. "It's an emergency. They have to leave right now."

Lily didn't ask any questions, but she followed him out of her bedroom, down the stairs, and into the den. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Teddy, Victoire, and Draco were all standing around. Nobody normal would have guessed that they were leaving. They did not have any bags aside from the miniscule one Hermione held at her side. The only things in their pockets were their wands.

Lily found herself in her father's arms almost instantly. As she hugged him, she looked at everyone else around the room. Dominique and Louis were speaking with Teddy and Victoire. Rose and Hugo were hugging their parents. Albus and James were talking with Ginny near the archway of the den. Finally, Lily's eyes landed on Scorpius. She had a feeling he was only there because his father was going off to battle. If the circumstances were different, Lily was certain he would be up in his room having one of his fits after what happened with Albus.

He stood by his father silently, only nodding when Draco would say something to him. The look on his face told Lily that Scorpius had _not _forgotten the incident in the corridor. His back was stiffer than it usually was when he was around his father and his eyes were tight. It was almost physically painful for Lily to look at him.

Lily's observations of Scorpius were interrupted by Harry. "We are sorry to leave you all so quickly," he said. "A battle has broken out in Bulgaria and there is a shortage of aurors. We don't expect to be gone long, but we will send word if plans change. We expect you to behave during our absence, just as you always are. Keep the manor in one piece." Harry said a few more words, but was interrupted by a patronus from the Ministry. Lily did not know who it was, but it told them that they needed to hurry. Auror numbers in Bulgaria were dwindling quickly.

So, everyone hugged their parents - Scorpius being an exception - one last time, and they were gone. Just like that. Poof.

It was only when Harry and Ginny had disapparated that Lily felt the full affect of her parents leaving for battle. Her parents, the people who took care of her, were gone again. Lily wanted them there so bad. She _needed _them there. Dealing with what Hawk told her, what she suspected Scorpius was doing to himself, and Rose and Dominique on her case was nearly unbearable.

Lily looked around the room at all of the present manor residents. Their faces mirrored hers, even Rose and Dominique's. Their faces were pale and their eyes were wide. Lily looked at Scorpius, to find him looking at her. The intensity in his gaze weighed down on her like a trillion bricks. Something about the look he was giving her broke her. She didn't know why. Maybe because his problems made Lily's problems seem small and petty. Maybe because he was torturing himself - _killing _himself, as Albus thought - over things that were completely out of his control. Maybe it was because he was just Scorpius and for some reason, Scorpius made Lily's emotions run wild.

Lily's throat closed up and she burst into tears. Everyone watched her as she ran out of the room, nearly tripping over her own feet, trying to hide the fact that she was crying harder than she ever had in her life.

She found herself in her bedroom. Her sobs could probably be heard throughout the manor, but she couldn't make herself stop. It did not take long for Lily to see that it wasn't only her problems that were tearing her apart. There was something… something bigger. There was something wrong. Something horribly, horribly wrong and she couldn't put her finger on it. She just knew that something was coming. Something that would change everything.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, the banging in Scorpius's room started. _I guess I won't be meeting him in the music room tonight, _Lily thought. Though she was not in his presence, she listened to the sounds coming from his bedroom. It was comforting to Lily - in a twisted, selfish sort of way - that somebody was in such close proximity to her who was feeling emotions that were as strong, if not stronger, than what she was feeling.

Leo leapt up on the bed beside her and curled up right next to her head. Lily lifted a hand and rested it on his tiny body, her sobs finally subsiding into hiccups. Seconds could have passed, minutes, hours… Lily didn't know. Eventually, though the banging coming from Scorpius's room was not as peaceful as his piano playing, Lily finally fell asleep.

**A/N:**

**Sorry that took so long! I'm exhausted, though, so this A/N is really short. I have to go to bed. Goodnight! The story starts picking up right at the beginning of the next chapter.**

**I love you for reviewing!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Lily Potter II: **

Lily had fallen in and out of a dreamless sleep all night, so when she woke up again as the sun began to light up her window she gave up on sleeping and slung her legs over the bed, frustrated. Couldn't she just have _one _night of solid sleep? Only one. It was all she wanted.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room and grimaced. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from falling asleep so quickly after crying her eyes out, her hair stuck up in a plethora of different directions, and her dress from the day before was so crumpled she wondered if she would ever be able to get all the wrinkles out. She swallowed, only to find that her mouth was so dry it felt like sand paper. She was so thirsty. _I need tea, _Lily decided, the mere thought of the ridiculously comforting drink seeming to ease any tension she had been feeling from the night before.

Blearily, Lily stumbled out of her bedroom, not bothering to pick up her wand or put on shoes. It would only take a few minutes to go down stairs, make tea, and then come back up stairs. Surely, she would not need her wand or shoes for those few minutes…

Lily walked aimlessly down the corridor, down the hallway, flinching slightly when she heard that Scorpius was still banging things around in his room. When Lily reached the stairs, it was only then that she started to feel a certain uneasiness… A very peculiar uneasiness that one could only understand if they felt it before. Lily had not felt it before… She only knew that something was not right. Something was terribly wrong. It was similar to what she had felt the night before, right before she had fallen asleep, only intensified by millions.

Her heart began to hammer against her chest, but she kept going down the stairs at a snail's pace, despite the fact that her head was telling her to turn back. She argued with her internal monologue. If she turned back, how would she know what was wrong? How would _anybody _know what was wrong if they avoided things that didn't feel quite right?

Lily was approaching the archway that led into the kitchen from the dining room. Through it, she could see a shattered remains of teacup laying on the ground. Next to it was a cracked glass bottle, laying in a puddle of milk that it once held. She could hear water boiling on the stove. Everything was silent except for that bubbling water. _Turn back, turn back! _her head screamed. _There's something wrong! Get Albus, James, anybody! Don't go in there alone! _

But it was too late.

Lily had already turned into the kitchen. As soon as she had walked through the archway, a sight that would haunt her forever was revealed.

Hawk was laying on the ground, dead. Horrible, deep gashes covered his body. Knives - knives that did _not _belong to the manor - protruded from his body and some of them laid beside him, drenched with that dreaded red liquid. His silver hair splayed around his head, matted with the blood from a head wound on his temple. His eyes were glazed over, but blood was still pouring out of another wound on his chest. It covered the floor, now mixing with the milk Lily had seen previously. White next to red. Lily's stomach began to churn, but she kept on looking at Hawk's body. Blood trickled out of his mouth, down his face, and back into his mouth through a cut so deep that it cut right through his cheek.

_He's dead, _Lily thought. _Oh, Merlin, he's dead. He's dead. He's dead. _

Lily's scream pierced the silence of the manor. She screamed and screamed and screamed. She couldn't make herself stop. If she was brave, maybe she would have fallen on her knees beside Hawk. But, she wasn't. She backed away slowly, still screaming so loud that her throat was already going raw. She was shaking in terror. Though she did not thinks she'd be able to move her gelatin-like legs, something in her head told her to _run._ When she reached the archway again, she turned-

And ran straight into someone. Someone who smelled familiar; like the sweet smell of old books and the crispness of early winter. Someone who made her feel _safe. _

Scorpius registered what had happened quicker that Lily did. Not even half a second after Lily ran into him, one of his arms wrapped around her waist and the hand from his other arm held her head to his chest. "Don't look," he said tightly. "For Merlin's sake, _don't look_." Lily couldn't bring herself to remind him that she already saw and that she wasn't looking anymore. Lily couldn't speak. Hell, she couldn't even _breath. _

Suddenly, there was a bang and a crash. Scorpius jerked Lily out of the archway. The arm around her waist was no longer there, and the sick feeling in Lily's stomach told her it was because he had to reach into his back pocket to get his wand. Lily's assumption was confirmed when Scorpius shouted the words, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" Lily felt the muscles in his chest and torso tense when he lifted his wand at the intruder. Lily longed to turn her head to see what was going on, but Scorpius's free hand was still holding her head firmly to his chest, as if he was shielding her from seeing something that would scar her for the rest of her life. _Too late, _Lily thought vaguely.

A curse that Lily had never heard performed left the intruder's mouth. The Cruciatus Curse.

"_Protego!_" Scorpius yelled, and Lily nearly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Hawk had taught the students the shield spell last year. "Who are you?" Scorpius demanded, and the intruder laughed. His laugh was light an airy, belonging to someone who had to be around Scorpius's age, James's age at the latest. Children warriors? Lily shuddered.

"What the hell?" a new voice cut in, and Lily recognized it instantly as Albus's. Lily twisted her head, desperate to see. Scorpius still wouldn't let her move. She jerked out of his grasp, surprising him. Finally, she got a look at the intruder. He was in a black cloak, his hood drawn up. She couldn't see his face, but he was still laughing manically. Lily looked over at her brother, who had his wand out in front of him. He stood at the entrance of the stairs, his hair wild. He looked like he had just tumbled out of bed. Finally, Lily looked at Scorpius. Though he wasn't holding her to him anymore, one of his hands still gripped her elbow firmly. He was watching the intruder, his wand out. He looked exhausted. His eyes had dark circles under him and he still wore the same clothes from the night before. She supposed Scorpius _had _been banging around in his bedroom all night, so it wasn't surprising.

In those few moments of observation, James had nearly ran into Albus at the bottom of the stairs. He shared the same look of shock that Albus did.

The intruder wasn't doing anything, and in those few moments, Lily began to wonder what exactly he was doing there. Surely, he was a Death Eater… But, it was odd that he had shown up at the Potter Manor completely alone, without an army with him. Lily knew that they Death Eaters had been searching for the manor for years, but the protection was the best of the best. They should have _never _been able to find it. If they had - which they did - surely, they would have came with more than one man.

"The rest are coming," the intruder said in strange, monotone voice. "I've let them know I've found you. You don't have time to get out. Even if you work your hardest, you won't have time to get out. News of your whereabouts will reach your parents less than minutes after your death, and it will bring them here. We will kill them." Near the end, his flat voice was tinged with a sickening amusement. "The Death War will be over. We will have conquered. When Harry Potter is dead, the last thread of hope will be gone. The world will be-"

"_Stupefy!_" a female voice slashed through the room, cutting off the intruder.

Rose and Dominique came through the second entrance, the entrance that led into the den, as Rose lowered her wand. The intruder fell to the ground, unconscious. The children of the manor - except Hugo and Louis, who were absent - all stared around at each other. The quiet was excruciating for a moment, but finally, Albus spoke.

"We have to get out of here," he said, and for a moment, all Lily saw was her father.

"Albus-" James began, but Albus cut him off.

"We have to leave. They'll be here in minutes. Get your belongings. Your _wands_," he said, shooting a pointed look at Lily. "Anything that you feel you'll need. Dad has left James and I a few instructions if this were to ever happen. We need to go collect a couple things up from his study. We'll meet you down here in _no less than five minutes,_" he explained. "Rose," he said, looking at his closest female cousin. "You know where the bag is, right?" Rose nodded in response. Lily watched everyone's faces, and realized that they had expected this to happen at some point. Maybe they didn't know it would happen that day, but they knew it would happen eventually. Lily felt stupid.

"Lily," Albus said, looking meaningfully at his little sister. "Go upstairs and get your _wand. _Nothing else. Your wand, do you hear me? Nothing. Else_._"

"But Leo-" Lily said, feeling horribly immature that she was worrying about her cat at this time.

"_Your wand._" Lily began to protest, and Albus looked at Scorpius. "Go up there with her. Don't let her out of your sight. We don't know who that person" - he gestured to the form on the ground - "has planted in the manor. There could be Death Eaters everywhere." After a few more instructions, mainly to Dominique and Rose about finding Louis and Hugo and getting the mysterious bag, the children of the manor split up.

Scorpius took off up the stairs, his hand still gripping Lily's elbow, who was stumbling after him like an idiot. "We have to hurry," he said gruffly, practically dragging Lily up the stairs with him.

"Scorpius, how did they find us?" Lily asked stupidly, her thoughts seeming to move excruciatingly slow. She could not get Hawk's dead face out of her mind, the blood flowing form his mouth, the wounds covering his body, the blood mixing with milk. "I don't understand how they found us. We were safe here! We were supposed to be safe here!" her voice was getting more frantic as she continued to talk. This was _not _her normal rambling, she knew that much, but words seemed to be pouring out of her mouth unstoppably. She had no control. "They weren't supposed to be able to find us here! We were supposed to be _safe_-"

Scorpius whirled around and pinned her to the wall. They were only feet away from her bedroom, but what Scorpius had to say seemed as if it could not wait. "Listen to me," he said, gripping her shoulders painfully. His face was so close to hers that Lily could feel his breath on her cheeks and neck. "Listen. You _are _safe. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. I understand why you feel like you're not, though. I'm sorry that you had to be the one to find Hawk like that. I wish I could have been the one to find him, but that's not how it worked. You just need to trust me, okay? You'll be safe as long as your with me." He was breathing heavily, his blond hair falling into his silver eyes. Sweat beaded at his forehead. He was desperate for Lily to see that she was safe. Despite everything - Hawk's dead body, the unconscious intruder, the approaching army - the only thing that seemed _really _important was the way Scorpius was looking at her right then, his desperation for Lily to trust him.

Lily could only nod. Scorpius searched her face for one more second before seeming satisfied. He hurried her into her bedroom where he found her wand on her bedside table and thrust it in her hands. Scorpius looked at Leo who was still sleeping on the bed, completely unbothered by what was going on around him. He then looked at Lily's devastated face as she remembered that she was not allowed to bring Leo to wherever they were going. "Do you have a bag?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"A bag! You know, you carry stuff around in it-"

Lily hurried to her wardrobe, pulled out a backpack, and handed it to Scorpius without another word. He lifted Leo - who gave a very irritated meow - into it, zipped it halfway, and handed it to Lily. "Keep it open so he can breath," he instructed. When Lily stared at him, shocked again at his kindness, he sighed impatiently, and took the bag from her. Once he had helped Lily loop her arms through the straps of the backpack and Lily remembered at the last minute to put on shoes, they were off down the corridor once more. It only took Lily a few seconds to realize that they were going the opposite direction they were supposed to be going. Weren't they supposed to be meeting the others in the dining room?

"Scorpius-"

"I have to get something," he said shortly, his voice indicating that no questions would be permitted.

As Lily followed after him, she realized with a jolt that they were going in the direction of his bedroom - the very last bedroom in the corridor that held the children's bedrooms. When they finally reached the door, Lily stood aside, expecting to wait out in the corridor for Scorpius until he was done. When he saw what she was doing, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her in after him. "I promised your brother I wouldn't let you out my sight," he said.

Lily hardly heard him. She was staring around his room, her eyes wide. So _this _was the result of all of Scorpius's fits over the years. Furniture was strewn everywhere. The chair from the desk turned over, drawers pulled from the bureau laid on the floor, contents from the shelves on the left side of the room were on the right side, blood stained the stone walls where Scorpius had punched them and tore apart his knuckles.

"Sorry for the _mess,_" Scorpius said, his voice dripping with bitter sarcasm, before he strode across the room and shuffled through a drawer that was laying on the ground. He pulled out a little velvet drawstring bag and tucked it in one of his pockets without making eye contact with Lily. Next, he went the drawer laying a few feet away from the previous one and found a thick envelope, which he stored in his coat. "Ready?" he asked, and Lily nodded. "Alright-"

Lily saw the dark figure step out from his crouched position behind the bureau before Scorpius did. The Death Eater must have been hiding in just the right spot for Scorpius not to see him through his peripheral vision when he was searching the drawers, and since Lily was right at the door, she could not see behind the bureau. The Death Eater had his wand out and ready, his dark brown hair slicked back, and an amused expression across his wide-featured face.

Lily had no time to warn Scorpius that the Death Eater was _right there, _so instinctively, she pulled out her wand and yelled, "_Stupefy!_" The Death Eater immediately fell unconscious, just as the one in the dining room had earlier.

Silence followed.

Scorpius did not look surprised, not really. He wasn't even _looking _at the Death Eater. He had spared him a glance, and then looked back at Lily, who was lowering her wand slowly. An odd expression showed on his face, and then one side of his lips lifted into a lopsided smile. A new found respect for Lily glinted in his eyes when he said, "Thanks."

"Er… No problem," Lily replied, a little breathless. She had never actually performed that spell, she had only read about it in the textbooks Hawk would give them during lessons. Lily glanced down at her wand with a new found appreciation. "Are you okay?" she asked, glancing back up at Scorpius.

"Of course," he responded. Was that a _flush _Lily saw on his face? Scorpius cleared his throat. "We should go… We're wasting time."

So, the two of them hurried out of his bedroom, down the corridor, back down the stairs, and found themselves in the dining room once again. The dining room was empty. The others should have been back by now, that fact did not need to be spoken. Seeming as if on cue, a massive explosion sounded right above them. Scorpius swore and shoved Lily backwards as the ceiling caved in.

James and Albus fell through the now massive hole in the ceiling just as Rose, Dominique, Louis, and Hugo ran through the archway the connected the den the dining room. "What the hell was that?" Scorpius demanded incredulously, looking up at the hole in the ceiling.

"Had some Death Eaters on our tail from the moment we left here," James said, wheezing as he stood and clutched his side.

"We were cornered," Albus explained as he quickly pulled a map out of the backpack that was now slung across his shoulder. "We had to do _something _to get out of there, so we blew up the ground. We could have died, but we were surrounded by Death Eaters anyway. We knew if we jumped at the right moment, we would avoid the explosion but _they _wouldn't." While he was spouting all this out, he was examining the map he had taken out of his bag.

"_Surrounded?_" Rose demanded. "How many Death Eaters are here? Dominique and I ran into two on the way to get Louis and Hugo, and ran into two_ more_ on the way back."

"There was one in my bedroom," Scorpius added solemnly, examining his nails in a manner that was _way _too casual for the circumstances. "What he was doing in there, I could not tell you." He flashed Lily a grin. "Your sister killed it, by the way."

Albus looked up from his map, momentarily surprised. "Really?"

"He's only unconscious," Lily said quickly, trying to avoid the glares Dominique and Rose were giving her. "Which is why we need to hurry, because everyone we knocked out is going to wake up soon!" She gestured at the hooded figure from earlier, still laying limply on the ground.

"Speaking of…" Albus said, stowing the map away in his pocket before kneeling next to the figure. "It never hurts to know who we're dealing with, right?" He yanked the hood away from the person's face, to reveal a black haired, pale skinned boy who had to be at _most _Albus's age. A look of shock flashed across Albus's face before he covered the intruder's face again.

"We should kill him," James said, pulling out his wand.

Albus laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "_No. _Do you have any clue who this is?"

"It's Andre Shroudrouge," Scorpius said, and despite having spoken only minutes before, everyone jumped at his eerily calm voice.

"How do you know?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Jester Shroudrouge himself may have never been spotted, but that's only because he sends his son to do his dirty work." He watched as James took this all in. "Come on, Potter, don't tell me you don't know what Andre Shroudrouge looks like? Your father has rough sketches of him stored in his drawers."

"How do _you _know what's in my father's drawers?" James demanded, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Ask your brother," Scorpius said, not seeming to care that James looked like he was about to strangle him. Lily was also a little surprised that Scorpius knew the contents of her father's drawers. She wasn't angered like James was, but she wondered what he had been doing going through his stuff and why he was so comfortable admitting it to everyone.

James looked at Albus incredulously. "Do you have any respect? You and Malfoy go through our father's private files in your spare time?"

Albus looked incredibly frustrated. "We need to go. We don't have time to argue about stupid things like this!"

Lily began to wonder if Scorpius and Albus were not best friends out of convenience like she always thought. Were they were partners in crime? Lily had always assumed that the mischief caused in the manor was mainly by James and Albus. Maybe the simple pranks were… Maybe Albus and Scorpius were the people who caused the _real _trouble, that being looking into Harry's private files about the war. Maybe Albus was always so eager to join their parents fighting because he knew more than any of the other children did.

"What are we going to do with the Shroudrouge kid?" Dominique asked impatiently.

"Leave him here," Albus said. "If we kill him, it could only cause usproblems. They're here to get revenge on our parents by harming us, not to get revenge on us for doing basically nothing. I don't want to put our parents in more danger than they already are by killing the leader's son."

"Mum and dad are perfectly capable of-"

"_James. _I said _no,_" Albus snapped, and everyone looked at him, their eyes wide.

"Who made _you _the leader?" Rose demanded.

"Well, nobody wants _you _to be the leader," Lily sneered without thinking, which turned the surprised eyes on her. Scorpius grinned lazily, and even though Lily was glad to have made him proud of her, she thought smiling was completely out of place under the circumstances. It was odd. They were in danger, but not in immediate danger anymore - for at least a few minutes anyway. But now that they were not in the heart of danger, Scorpius's careless attitude seemed to be amplified by the thousands. Maybe it was his way of staying calm?

"What did you say, Daffodil?" Rose snarled, lifting her wand.

"For the love of Merlin," James intervened. "We don't have time for this! We will deal with your petty problems _and _discuss who is leading us later," he added to Albus, who raised an eyebrow, as if challenging his older brother to even try to argue with him.

"Did I not just tell you this?" Albus demanded. Lily watched her brothers argue, astonished. Simple bickering was common, but the tones they were using with each other were downright hostile. Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the manor. Albus swore. "They're breaking in," he said, his green eyes blazing. "We have to apparate out of here now."

It was an unspoken agreement through the older children of the manor that there would be some sidelong apparation taking place. Hawk had taken the older students to a large meadow a year before and had taught them to apparate back to the manor. It was Lily, Hugo, and Louis's turn this year, but they had never got around to it and never would now that Hawk was dead.

Scorpius grabbed Lily by the wrist, his nails piercing her skin. Albus took Lily's look of shock and terror as an expression of distrust for Scorpius. "Don't worry, Lils," Albus said. "He'll keep you safe."

Lily had the hysterical urge to laugh.

Rose grabbed Hugo, and Dominique grabbed Louis. The two other youngest residents seemed to be in a state of shock similar to Lily's. James took hold of Albus by the arm, probably more out of comfort for himself than for the need to protect his younger brother. Albus did not decline, so Lily had a feeling that despite their argument over leadership, the brothers were still depending on each other to get through this. Lily shoved any feelings of loneliness away. This was _not _the time to get jealous over Albus and James's sibling relationship.

"Come here," Albus ordered, pulling out the map once more. Everyone gathered around him. "Quickly," he snapped as more windows began to shatter. "See this X?" he asked, pointing to a red X right in the middle of the map of vague squiggly lines. "Focus on it. Think of it as you apparate. I don't know where we're going, only that this is the place my dad thinks is safest for us. If we end up in different places, send me a patronus." He looked up at everyone, analyzing their facial expressions. "Got it? Alright, on my mark…"

Lily watched Scorpius's face as Albus counted down from three. "Three…" Albus said, and Scorpius's eyes flashed as an explosion sounded throughout the manor. "Two…" Scorpius, seeming to find it more fit, wrapped his arm around Lily's waist. Out of the corner of Lily's eye, she could see Andre Shroudrouge begin to stir. "One…" Finally, Scorpius looked down at her, the promise to keep her safe blazing like fire in his eyes. "Go."

And the children of the manor apparated away to the mysterious X, which only marked the beginning of their journey together.

**A/N:**

**Ugh. Sorry that took so long. I love you guys for reviewing, so a review on this chapter would be appreciated. **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Lily Potter II:**

The sensation of apparating was like nothing Lily had ever felt before. She felt like she was be twirled around in two different directs at a speed that seemed too fast to be true. Once they landed, Scorpius's arm tightened around Lily's waist - his attempt to keep her from falling over. Once her feet hit the ground, she landed on a soft, squishy surface… It reminded her of leaves or pine needles. When she opened her eyes, she was not surprised to see that the ground was, in fact, covered in leaves and pine needles.

She looked around to see that they were in a miniscule clearing of a forest. Trees surrounded them, the only light being what was shining through their branches. The clearing was quite pleasant, and compared to the shattering windows and explosions at the manor, _very _quiet. Until, of course, the cracks of the others apparating echoed throughout the forest.

James and Albus appeared first, followed close after by Rose and Hugo. Dominique and Louis were not far behind them. When they landed, they stared around the clearing cautiously, no doubt expecting someone to jump out and start shouting curses at them. Lily's evaluation of the others was cut short when Scorpius's arm dropped away from her waist. She swallowing, refusing the allow the disappointment to wash over her.

"Where are we?" Hugo asked, his big, innocent eyes landing on Albus. Albus, over the years, had developed a strange fondness over Hugo. They never spent much time together, but if Albus could he went out of his way to help Hugo out, starting with the task of dragging him to lessons everyday so he would not be late. Lily never thought much about their relationship, only that it was sort of sweet how when Hugo _was _around, he hero-worshipped Albus in a way that little brothers hero-worshipped their older brothers. Lily silently assumed that it was because Rose was a raging bitch-

"We're…" Albus looked at the map. "I don't know. At the X, I suppose."

"Give it here," James demanded, snatching the map from Albus's grasp.

"James," Albus said, struggling to keep calm. "I took the map out of the drawer in dad's study, so" - he took the map back - "I will be in control of it."

"I'm the oldest," James answered, fuming. "I know you're favored in the eyes of dad, but trust me, Albus, dad would want me-" Resent me had began to drip into James's tone before Albus interrupted him.

"_Don't _even start with that right now," Albus snapped.

Everyone watched the brothers argue, shocked. Harry never favored one child over another. Sure, he spoke with James and Albus more than he spoke with Lily about the Death War, but that was only because she was still young to him and still held a fragile innocence that he did not want to break. Lily was surprised that James felt Albus was favored over him. The brothers were so close in age that they were always granted the same privileges. They always seemed as if they were equals.

James began to speak again, but Albus cut him off. "My dad wrote on the bottom to travel East." He rummaged around in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a gold compass and flipping it open. "East is…" He watched the compass for a moment. "That way." He pointed in the direction that was apparently East, and looked back at the others, a blank look on his face.

"What do we do _now_?" Louis drawled, and Lily resisted the urge to groan. If there was anybody Lily disliked for no reason at all, it was Louis. The way he talked, the way he walked, the way he looked at anybody who so much as disagreed with him. Lily supposed that since he was Dominique's younger brother it wasn't surprising. Lily could not stand Louis. If there was a way to avoid being around him, she would do it, regardless of how inconvenient it was for her.

"We go that way, obviously," Dominique responded, rolling her eyes at her brother.

"Wait," Rose cut in. "Do you even know where we're going? Do you even know where we're _at?_"

"No," Albus said impatiently. "But that's the point. We weren't supposed to know, incase one of _you _let it slip. We probably don't have far to travel. We'll know soon enough where we're going."

When Albus stopped speaking, Leo meowed.

"_What was that?_" Albus demanded, his eyes landing on Lily.

Lily's eyes widened as she felt Leo squirm in her backpack. She had nearly forgotten he was there with everything was going on. "Er…" Lily said, her heart seeming to fly up into her throat. Albus had specifically asked her not to bring Leo, but she had anyway. What was going to happen now?

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, she brought that damned cat," Rose said, her voice doused with bitterness.

Leo meowed again. Lily resisted the urge to groan as Leo continued meowing. "Okay, okay," she muttered, trying her best to ignore the incredulous looks everyone was giving her as she shrugged out of her backpack and fully unzipped the zipper. She clumsily handed Scorpius the backpack to hold once she had gotten Leo out and cradled him to her chest. _Now _she looked back to the faces of her brothers and cousins and shrugged nervously. "Sorry."

The temper Albus had been trying so hard to keep under control exploded. "_Dammit, Lily!_" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. Lily vaguely noted that he booming voice had sent birds flying from the surrounding trees. "I asked you not to bring that cat. No. I did not ask you to do anything. I distinctly _told _you not to bring it and look what you did? You brought it anyway!" He gripped at the roots of his hair and began pacing, clearly trying to calm his nerves. It did not seem to be working, because he started shouting again. Lily watched him, her eyes wide. "We're so deep in this right now!" he yelled. "We are so deep in this _shit _and you act like we're going on a merry walk - a nice little _stroll _-in the park!"

By now, everyone was watching Albus shout at his younger sister, their expressions that of shock. Even Rose's jaw had dropped. Dominique looked mildly concerned, probably more because of the pulsing vein on Albus's forehead that looked as if it were about to burst. James seemed more surprised out of all of them. Out of James and Albus, Albus had always been closer to Lily. He had always been the one to pick on her less and to baby her when he could. Hugo, who hardly paid attention to anything, was watching the scene raptly. Louis - oh, the _nerve _of that boy! - was sniggering into his hand. Lily was really going to have to do something about him.

"I'm sorry, Albus-" Lily started to choke out, but Albus kept talking… No, shouting.

"You're so stupid, Lily! You're so naïve sometimes I wish… I wish…" he struggled for words, and Lily braced herself for what her brother was about to say to her. Her throat was getting tight. Her brothers made fun of her sometimes, yes, but they had never outright insulted her. "Damn it, I don't know! You're always running around like you don't have a care in the world, tripping over things, watching the stars, being dad's little princess. It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't cause so much trouble. It's like drama just… _follows _you where ever you go! You're a nuisance, that's it! That's what you are! You're a bother! You're-"

"Stop it."

That voice, that lifesaving voice, that wonderful, exquisite, beautiful voicecut Albus off. Though Scorpius's tone was deep and quiet, it silenced Albus's shouting in an instant. Scorpius always did that. He always came to her rescue when Lily was being stomped on, overpowered… Despite the circumstances and what Lily had just been called, she felt a fluttery sensation in her chest.

"Scorpius, don't even start-" Albus began.

"You're taking your anger out of your sister when she's done nothing wrong," Scorpius said smoothly. "Yes, she disobeyed you, but that was partially my fault. I thought it was a good idea for her to bring the cat."

Albus gaped at Scorpius, his face a look of utter disbelief. "You _told _her to bring the cat? You gave her permission after I told her not to? Scorpius, what the-"

"You act like your sister is an infant or something. She's fifteen! Nearly sixteen!" Scorpius's voice was raising a little by now, but not to the point where he was losing his cool. "She's only two years younger than us. You seem to forget that when _you _were fifteen you had already started asking your father if you could go on missions with him. You seemed to think that you were quite mature at that age, if I recall correctly. It was entirely her choice whether she brought the cat or not, I only… _encouraged._" A smirk twisted up at his lips.

"Why have you been taking Lily's side with _everything _the past couple months?" Albus asked. There was a moment of silence as he rubbed his temples, and then realization dawned on his face. "Oh, for the love of _fuck!_" Albus shouted louder than he had that whole day, his yell echoing throughout the forest. "Do not tell me…" Albus said, his voice now scary-calm. "Do not tell me you and my sister have been… been… _involved._"

"Dear Merlin, no," Scorpius said rather quickly, shaking his head. Lily felt a pang of something stab in her stomach, something she could not identify, and something that was completely unjustifiable. "You're just being unfair," he continued, obviously oblivious to Lily's feelings. "You treat her like shit. She's your sister, and you watch _these _girls" - he gestured blindly to Rose and Dominique - "tear her life apart and you don't do anything about it! You should be doing something, but you're not, so I am. Is it a crime? No, but the fact that you sit there hardly lifting a finger as Rose and Dominique pick on your little sister until she can't even leave her bedroom without feeling like her cat is going to be flung off the tower _is _a crime. You're supposed to be family. You're supposed to be there for each other, which is why you" - he looked directly at James - "need to stop being so dramatic and work with your brother instead of against him and you" - he looked back to Albus - "need to stop acting like you're the captain of everything because it's fucking annoying and you know it is."

Once Scorpius finished his rant, the only noise in the clearing was his ragged breathing. He had spoken everything incredibly fast and had not stopped for breath. Tensions were running high, only proved by the fact that Scorpius had sworn twice in his little tirade. It was not normal for Scorpius to swear just because he could - usually it was when he was incredibly frustrated, angry, or anxious. The last time Lily had seen him swear so foully was the night Rose had dropped Leo from the tower.

"_Don't _tell me how to act, Malfoy," Albus finally said, his voice soaked with menace. Lily had never seen her brother so hostile before. This side of Albus was completely new to her. She understood that everyone was overwhelmed, so of course it was to be expected… It just scared her a little bit.

Scorpius had regained his composure fairly quickly. "Someone needed to," he replied simply.

Albus laughed harshly. "If anyone here needs to tell me what attitude is appropriate, it shouldn't be _you. _You and I both know that you're the least stable out of all of us."

It was like the flip of a switch. That composure that Lily thought was steady disappeared from Scorpius in an instant and anger colored his features. His hands were clenched at his side and his teeth closed together with an audible _snap. _"What exactly," he said bitterly through his teeth, "is _that _supposed to mean, Potter?"

"The proof is right there, scratched into your arms-"

Scorpius threw himself at Albus, and then the two boys were wrestling each other on the dirt covered ground. Scorpius's fist connected with Albus's face in half a second-

Lily was closest to Scorpius and James was closest to Albus. Lily hurried forward at the same time James did and grabbed Scorpius by the arm, desperately trying to pull him away from her older brother. It quickly became apparent that she was not strong enough to move Scorpius, and with Scorpius on top of Albus, James was unable to get Albus out from under him. Dominique saw what was happening and joined Lily on pulling Scorpius away from Albus.

Lily and Dominique shared a brief moment of eye contact before looking away from each other.

With one final heave, the girls managed to pull a struggling Scorpius off of Albus, who had been putting up a pretty good fight himself. James pulled Albus from the dirt, brushing off the back of his shirt. Dominique had a firm grip on Scorpius's wrist and Lily held tightly onto the fabric of his shirt while trying to keep Leo from squirming out of her grasp with her other hand. "For Merlin's sake!" James shouted at the two of them once they had finished. "You're best friends! Pull yourselves together."

Then Rose exploded. "_You _have no place to talk, James!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "All _three _of you need to get your acts together! Even _Daffodil_" - she gestured to Lily - "is doing better than you three and we all know how immature she is!" Lily shot Rose a glare of pure loathing, which Rose ignored. "I understand that this is hard, and I understand that we have a lot to figure out… But please, for the sake of all of our safeties, stop this nonsense!"

"Maybe we should all just stop talking for awhile," Hugo's quiet voice cut in.

_Leave it to _Hugo_ of all people to have the best idea of the entire day, _Lily thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"That's probably best," Albus agreed, pulling out the compass from earlier. "We need to start moving, though. East. We're going East."

"So you don't have any idea where we're going?" Rose asked, after taking a deep breath and running her hands through her hair.

Everyone crowded around Albus in a tight circle, even Scorpius, despite have nearly broken Albus's nose moments prior. Everyone exchanged glances before looking down at the map Albus was holding out again. "Well…" Albus said, his eyes raking over the map. "Nothing on here gives me any clues, but if my dad thinks this place is safe enough to house us for awhile… I have pretty good idea where we're headed."

**A/N: **

**Okay. Wow. That took me way too long to write and it's not even a long chapter.**

**SPEAKING of chapter lengths, I know you guys want like, six page chapters every single update… But here's the thing: I write what I can. I'm not going to put unnecessary boring stuff in there just to make it two pages longer. If a chapter NEEDS to be six pages or so, it will be. If it needs to be three pages, it'll be that. Trust me guys, if I forced myself to write six pages every chapter, you would think it was incredibly dull. I never go below three pages, so you'll never get some super short lame chapter. **

**Okay. Now that is done. Thanks for your reviews! (: You guys are so sweet. I love you all! **

**Tensions are really high right now, as you can see. Albus is being a dick, I know. And you're probably like "That is NOT a way to treat a self-abuser" and you totally hate Albus. I know. Albus regrets it, I promise. There will be a Scorp/Albus bromance moment thing in the next chapter to make up for it. **

**Oh man, Scorpius… Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius… You claim that you're crazy, but when someone else says it you go all… crazy? **

**I have to go to school now, but I'll talk to you all later!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

The children had walked in silence until nightfall. By then, they were all cold and hungry. It was still late winter and the snow was just beginning to melt. Water dripped from tree branches and gathered in puddles on the ground, which soaked the children's shoes. Albus, James, and Scorpius held up a good front, but everyone else was shivering so hard that their teeth were chattering.

As darkness fell, the seemingly chipper forest began to feel eerie and mysterious. Finally, Albus called for the group to stop walking once they reached another slightly smaller clearing than the one they had apparated in to that morning. "We need to set up camp… or something," he said, looking at Rose. Rose nodded knowingly and reached for a small drawstring bag that was draped across her body by a thin belt. So _this _was the bag Rose and Dominique had ran for that morning. Lily did not know how a bag that small would be any help to them-

Rose reached her _entire arm _into the bag. The was an awful lot of clanking - too much clanking for a bag that small - as Rose dug around in the bag. She stopped, peered inside, and handed the bag to Dominique who held it while Rose pulled out several sleeping bags and tossed them on the ground. Lily's jaw dropped. "Don't look so shocked, Daffodil," Rose sneered, or attempted to. She was still shivering from the cold. "You act like you've never even seen magic before."

"I'm not-" Lily broke off as a freezing cold wind whirled through the clearing. Lily didn't have a jacket. She was still in the clothes she had fallen asleep in the day before, a thin cotton dress. Luckily, her stockings gave her legs _some _warmth, but it did not help that she was drenched with water from her knees down.

Scorpius saw her evaluating her stockings. "You should take those off," he said.

"_What?_" Lily demanded, shocked. Her face turned the color of a tomato as she gaped at Scorpius.

"You'll catch a cold," he said, a sly smirk turning up at his lips, the amused twinkle in his eye more prominent than usual. By now, everyone was snickering, even Dominique and Rose, though grudgingly. "What I meant is that you should take them off because they are probably making you colder than you would be with them off, since their soaked with water."

Now that Scorpius had managed to get everyone's attention, of course Lily was not going to pull of her stockings right then and there. She was humiliated. Of course, Lily knew Scorpius had not meant to embarrass her, but couldn't he have been less… abrupt? "No," Lily said icily. "I'm fine, thank you."

This only caused everyone to laugh harder, aside from Scorpius. The amusement in his eyes vanished in an instant, but Lily did not have time to look at the rest of his expression, for she had turned away from him. But to look _where? _At the forest? Hardly. She could not see anything, it was so dark. Lily briefly considered using a lightning spell. She wondered if the Ministry was still tracking her magical use… Of course. She was only designated to use her wand during lessons, and obviously, there were not going to be anymore lessons. Had her parents got word of the attack on the manor and spoke to the Ministry about temporarily lifting the rule of using magic outside of lessons? Did her parents even know what happened? Were they looking for her?

"Lils," Albus called. "C'mon, it was only a joke."

"I didn't even mean for it to be a joke," Scorpius amended. "I was only-"

"I'm _hungry,_" Louis suddenly drawled from his spot beside Dominique and Rose. "We haven't eaten since last night, and I didn't even eat that much last night."

"Whose fault is _that?_" Lily asked, resisting the urge to tell Louis that she hadn't eaten anything at all since breakfast the day before.

"Shut up, Daffodil," Louis snapped, pushing his golden blond hair out of his face. "Stop acting all tough. You're the one who just threw a tantrum over a _joke._"

"An unfortunately wrong combination of words," Scorpius corrected. Lily refused to look at him. Her cheeks were still blazing from his carelessly thought out remark, and she did _not _want him to see that she was still embarrassed over it.

"We need to stop arguing," Albus said. "Louis, get a grip. You'll survive. Lily… just…" He shook his head and turned away, to consult with Rose about something. Lily watched him, incredulous. He spoke to her as if she was doing something _wrong. _He still had not apologized over what he had said earlier that day, either. Lily resisted the urge to groan and flopped down on the ground, suddenly exhausted from walking all day.

It was then that she realized how horribly sore her feet were. She pulled her shoes off and shoved her thumbs into her stocking-covered flesh, sighing in relief at the feel good sort of pain that it offered her feet. Lily's moment of relaxation was ruined by no one other than Scorpius. Surprise, surprise…

"Lily," he said quietly, sitting down beside her and pulling his legs underneath him Indian style. She refused to look at him. Now her cheeks were blazing like fire. "Lily, I'm sorry for what I said. It was incredibly careless and ungentlemanly of me, and I can assure you that I did not mean for it to sound the way it did. I also did not mean to get a reaction that strong from everyone."

Lily swallowed, shoving her thumbs deeper into her feet, letting her hair curtain her face.

"Lily Luna," he said softly, melodically, jostling her knee gently. Lily nearly drew in breath. The way he spoke her first and middle name was definitely _not _casual. There was an intimacy to it that made Lily shiver, and the coldness in the air contributed nothing to it. Not only had he called used her middle name to address her, but he also touched her to get attention. She was surprised that the heat that rushed to her skin underneath his fingertips did not spark a flame. "Look at me, please."

Lily didn't know what caused her to _finally _look at him. Maybe it was the tone of his voice. Maybe it was because he was just Scorpius. When her eyes finally met his, the genuineness in his eyes did not surprise her. Scorpius did not lie, so of course his apology was sincere. There was just something else there… A certain tenderness that made her heart flutter like a butterfly's wings. "I'm sorry," he breathed.

Lily managed to bob her head and say, "Okay."

When she tore her gaze away from Scorpius's, her eyes landed on Dominique who was watching them with a burning look in her eye.

…

The fire James had managed to conjure was beginning to dwindle, and the breathing of Lily's comrades who were zipped up in their sleeping bags were beginning to slow. Lily herself was nestled into her own sleeping bag, Leo curled up against her side, also underneath the fabric. The only two people still awake - aside from Lily - were Albus and Scorpius. The boys had dragged a fallen tree trunk over near the fire so they could sit on it earlier in the evening, and now Albus and Scorpius were sitting on opposite ends of it.

Lily peaked through the zipper of her sleeping bag to get a good view of them. Their eyes both reflected the fire, the light of the flames turning their pale faces orange. After a few moments, Scorpius spoke without removing his gaze from the fire. "What do you think we should do?"

"Stay alive until our parents find us," Albus said grimly, not even blinking when Scorpius spoke.

"Do you think they know?" Scorpius asked. "Could they know? We haven't sent them any news, and we probably shouldn't just incase they're in the wrong company." Lily shuddered at the hidden meaning. _Incase they're being held captive for some reason, _would be a better way of saying it. Sending a patronus could lead the enemy back to the children's location - so, obviously, not a smart move.

"They'll find out eventually. Until then, we need to stay out of sight."

"What about all of the things Hawk told us?"

Lily stiffened. Hawk had been speaking with Scorpius and Albus as well?

"Hawk was a crazy old man," Albus said, "who couldn't even raise his wand to the enemy. I don't think we should take anything Hawk told us too seriously."

"You think he betrayed us by getting killed?" Scorpius wondered, not sounding accusing, only mildly curious.

"I think… I think he set us up," Albus said. "He claimed he'd help us, but how is helping us by being dead? If he was so damned set on helping us, don't you think he'd be a little bit more aware of his surroundings? Don't you think he would have looked out for himself just a little bit closer?" Albus's tone was becoming progressively more frustrated as he continued talking. "It _is _a pity - a tragedy - that Hawk was killed like that, but for some reason now I feel like I should have expected it. Do you know what I mean?"

"He spoke to your sister," Scorpius said abruptly, ignoring Albus's initial question.

Albus looked taken aback, obviously surprised. "What?"

"Your sister. Hawk spoke with her. He was trying to prepare her for what we were all going to experience together. From what I've gathered, he thinks she has strong leadership skills but she needs to hone in on them. Lily is stubborn, though, and she wouldn't listen to him-"

"What does this have to do with Hawk?"

"Aren't you listening to me?" Scorpius asked, finally looking up at Albus, his voice laced with annoyance. "He seems to think she has strong _leadership _skills. Leadership, Albus. I'm saying you're right - he expected to die. He spoke to me, you, and your sister because he trusted us to be able to do… whatever he wants us to do."

"I feel like I'm missing out on something, here." Albus seemed to try to steady his thoughts. "How do you know Hawk talked to my sister?"

"I eavesdropped on their conversation one day," Scorpius said, unashamed. Lily would have rolled her eyes if the conversation had not been so serious.

"You're basing your assumptions about Hawk's motives behind his death after one conversation you heard between him and my sister?"

"I am incredibly observant."

Albus looked up at Scorpius now. "What were they talking about?"

"Well, in a nutshell - which is all you really need to know; there was a bit of pointless arguing - Hawk wanted Lily to resolve things with Dominique and Rose because it would make it easy for all of us. For what we were going to endure together. Whatever." Scorpius shook his head. "All in all, Hawk felt your sister should be the one to do it because she was the only one out of the three who _could _do it. Lily's just to hardheaded to actually think about doing it."

"Fuck, she's fifteen. Why do you think Hawk thinks she's capable of leading-"

"She's _smart,_" Scorpius interrupted. "For Merlin's sake, Albus, why are you so unwilling to accept the fact that your sister might be able to actually help us? You're insulting her, talking down to her… Why? You know she's intelligent, you know she's had to put up with a lot more than what a normal girl her age should have to. She found Hawk dead. _Dead. _Knives sticking out of his body, blood running down his face. If you think she's _innocent _and _naïve _after this morning, you're an ignorant son of a bitch."

Albus rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I know you're right," he finally admitted. "It is just hard because she's always been that… constant, you know? She's always been Lily. Young, innocent Lily. She's always been so sheltered by my father because that was what she was for him - a constant. Something solid. Unchanging. Not only that, but she was clueless. She knew what's going on, but she didn't. She didn't want to talk about the war, she never spoke of fighting, only pointless things like stars and that clarinet that she couldn't play for the life of her." Lily could hear the smile in her brother's voice. "I was so mad that she found Hawk - not _at _her, but _for _her. Why couldn't I have found him? Hell, I'd rather be scarred with that memory than have her even see any dead body, let alone our own mentor."

"I understand, Albus, but… it was coming. Something was coming that would snap her out of that little world." Scorpius wasn't insulting Lily, only speaking the truth. "I wish it would have been something else from what it was, but that was _it. _In that instant, she saw our world for what it is - cruel and corrupt. Better now than later. Better that she saw Hawk's dead body than seeing you or…" Scorpius hesitated. "Or… James getting murdered." Lily wondered vaguely what he was going to say before he hesitated. Was he going to say himself?

"Or you," Albus added, his voice tinged with bitter amusement.

Scorpius's eyes flashed. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think I'm romantically blind?"

Scorpius waited a moment before nodding. "Actually, yes."

Albus glared at him. "_Anyway. _I see the looks she gives you. I see how her cheeks get all red when you stand up for her. I don't know how you feel about her, Scorp, but please… be careful. I watch you as you watch her, and I can see you planning something. I don't know if this is just some scheme to… _punish _yourself further, but you have to remember that if you're trying to get attached to her to hurt yourself, you'll be hurting her too."

"Where did you get that idea?" Scorpius asked, his voice tight as he looked away from Albus.

"The girl who stayed with us at the manor when we were fourteen. You got close with her, maybe even fell in love with her, you fucked her, and then you holed up in your bedroom for the duration of her stay. She was so innocent and young, and you were years ahead of your age. Of course she couldn't see what you were doing, and neither can Lily. Just remember this time, Scorpius, that she's my sister and if you hurt her, I'm not going to forget it."

Scorpius stared at Albus in blank astonishment. Lily's heart dropped.

"You claim I don't know you, but Scorpius, I do. I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you that before you realize that it is true."

They exchanged a few more words, but Lily tuned out, her entire body feeling numb with a horrible disappointment.

Finally, the boys rolled out their sleeping bags. Lily noticed that Scorpius rolled out his only feet away from hers, to the side of her that had a particularly large opening of trees. Lily shut her eyes the moment he flung himself down onto the fabric, and kept them squeezed shut for the rest of the night, though she was not sleeping.

Telling by Scorpius's breathing, neither was he.

**A/N:**

**Sorry that took forever. I've been dealing with my own romance story lately - and let's just saying it's confusing as fuck. I really wish that I was writing it opposed to the being a character in it. **

**I suppose Albus and Scorpius's chat wasn't really bromance-like, but don't worry… those are coming.**

**Okay, I have to go. I miss reading you're reviews and feedback, so I'm excited to read the ones you have for this chapter. I love you! **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;) **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

The children continued their trek through the forest early the next morning, James and Albus in the front, followed by Dominique and Rose, an arguing Louis and Hugo, Lily and Leo, and Scorpius trailing behind. Everyone had woken up irritable and sore from sleeping on the ground, so there was not much talking going on. Tensions were higher than they were the day before, and Lily had a feeling it would only take one minor misstep to send the group into a flurry.

Lily's feet were aching every time her foot hit the ground with her next step and she hated knowing that it was only midmorning at that point. She envied Leo for being able to prance along through the pine needles and twigs without a care in the world. He seemed to meow whenever Lily began to walk slower than she was before. It only took a few times of this happening for Scorpius to catch on to what was happening and snicker every time Leo meowed. Lily pointedly ignored him.

She did not know what to think of the conversation she had heard the night before between Scorpius and Albus. It seemed impossible to process and Lily did not know whether it was because she had real, true feelings for Scorpius and she was hurt at Albus's assumption or if it was because she was just shocked that there could possibly be anything obvious between her and Scorpius… even if that anything was nothing.

Lily wanted more than anything to dwell on Scorpius's motives, but there were bigger things to worry about. Hawk had been speaking to Albus and Scorpius? No wonder Scorpius was eavesdropping on her after one of her conversations with Hawk. If she had known Hawk was about to speak with Albus or Scorpius, she would have definitely tried to listen in as well. She had to find a time to speak with them. It was essential that she prove herself to Albus. She needed him to know that she was maturing and she was able to handle whatever was thrown at them-

Lily screamed, startled when she fell flat on her face. It was only a matter of milliseconds before a piercing pain shot up her leg from her ankle. She gasped loudly, trying to sit up. The pain only got worse. She had slipped when she tried to step over two large rocks. Now her foot was trapped between them and when she tried to pull it out, it felt like she was going to rip her foot off.

Scorpius was on his knees beside her in only a few seconds, followed closely by Albus and James. "Are you okay?" Scorpius asked at the moment Albus and James said in unison, "How are we going to get it out?" Lily - selfishly - was glad that her brothers were finally acting concerned for her rather than annoyed she had caused another problem.

Stupidly, Albus reached for her ankle. "_Don't _touch it!" Lily snapped, the pain in her ankle, foot, and leg making her sound a little mean. She took a deep breath. "Let me do it. I can do it." Lily knew that her claims were rubbish, and she knew that Scorpius, James, and Albus knew. She refused to make eye contact with any of them because she was humiliated. She fell _again. _She knew Dominique and Rose were exchanging incredulous glances and Louis was snickering, half amused and half annoyed. Even Hugo wore a look of annoyance. Lily's cheeks were the color of a tomato.

She exhaled deeply before counting to three, taking hold of her ankle, and tugging-

She yelped at the pain that shot up her leg and let go instantly. "Can't we just move the rock?" Lily asked. "We can levitate it!" She waited for her brothers and Scorpius respond and her heart sank when they didn't.

"Sorry, Lily," Albus said sadly. "I don't think it would be a good idea to levitate two fifty kilogram rocks so closely to your body. What if one of us lost our concentration and dropped it on your leg? Then we'd be in _huge _trouble. A sprained ankle is one thing, a broken leg is something completely different."

"What are we going to do?" Lily asked, beginning to panic, which was more about the oncoming pain than anything else. "Are you just going to leave me here?"

"No," Scorpius answered instantly as Dominique said, "Sounds like a good idea to me."

Scorpius shot her a look of pure loathing. "Shut the fuck up, Weasley," he said. Each of the children's jaws dropped. It was the first time in any of their lives that - except for maybe Albus - that they saw Scorpius be outright hostile to an individual. It was expected for someone to snap at a time like this, but there was something about the way Scorpius said it, with the swear word thrown in and a certain hidden threat, that made everyone hold their breaths for a few seconds.

Albus cleared his throat, an attempt to break whatever ice had just formed, and began examining Lily's foot. "We're just going to have to pull it out." Lily stared at him blankly, and Albus dumbly took this as permission to quickly yank on her foot. She screamed loudly and grabbed Scorpius's arm without thinking, as Scorpius reached out with the hand on his other arm to shove Albus away.

"Give her a minute," Scorpius said crossly, before looking at Lily. His eyes softened, making Lily's heart hammer unevenly in her chest. "Listen," he said softly, as if nobody else was around. "I know it hurts." Unexplainably, the image of the scars on Scorpius's arms flickered in Lily's mind. "I also know that you know we're going to have to get your foot out somehow," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to do it or do you want one of us to do it?"

Lily looked at Albus, then at James, then back to Scorpius. "Just… get it out. I don't care if I scream."

"We could try lifting the rock manually-" James suggested, not liking the fact that his sister was going to be in pain.

"No," Lily said. "Albus is right. We can't risk dropping it."

"Okay…" Albus said, glancing up at his sister. "Are you ready?"

_No, _Lily thought. "Yes," she said aloud, clenching her teeth and tightening her grip on Scorpius's arm. She felt his muscles tense under her hold on him, and she glanced up to see him watching her with a very pained expression on his face. He did not look away when she met his eyes, only continued to watch her with an unexplainable look.

Albus Lily's moment of distraction to rip Lily's foot from the rocks' trap. Her scream actually hurt her own ears. "Oh, Merlin," she said, her voice tight with pain. Her shoe was destroyed and her ankle was in even worse shape. Cuts and scrapes covered her skin and bruises would begin to form in only a few minutes time. Then there was the _pain._

She was humiliated at the tears that formed in her eyes. Hastily, she rubbed her hand across her face. "Does anybody know any healing spells?" she asked in attempt to look tough. James and Albus were watching her, their faces filled with concern. Lily wouldn't look at Scorpius. Not with tears in her eyes simply because it _hurt._

There was a chorus of negative responses. Lily clenched her teeth and nodded. "No dittany?" she asked, turning to eye the bag that was slung across Rose's shoulder. Rose actually looked like she felt sort of bad as she shook her head, but a glare from Dominique wiped whatever sad feelings Rose felt for Lily off her face. "I guess I'll just have to… tough it out."

"I've got it," Scorpius said, and Lily was momentarily confused before he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her up as he stood, careful not to let her injured foot touch ground. He glanced down at her, his face now casual and relaxed - so different from what Lily saw moments before. That recognizable glint of amusement shown in his eyes once more. Though his expression was calm, that glint showed that he knew exactly what that arm around her waist was doing to Lily and he was _basking _in the thought of making her feel so suffocated, yet so elated. Electric currents seemed to shoot through the fabric of her clothes and into her body where the arm rested.

Lily hated it.

So, the children continued through the forest again. Lily and Scorpius lagged behind, and Lily had a feeling Scorpius was going slow purposely. Whether it was because he thought she could not handle going at the pace of the others or if he simply wanted to see how Lily would react to being alone with him outside of the manor she did not know. "You fell again," he remarked after a little while.

Lily did not dare to look up at his face. "I fell again," she agreed.

"You seem to have a bit of a knack for that," he said, glancing behind him to assure that Leo was at his heels.

"Do you know what you have a knack for?" Lily asked through gritted teeth. Despite Scorpius's help, it was hard limping through the forest. It was only intensified by the fact that Scorpius smelled so good and his body was so close to hers and that he kept talking to her with that knowing, overly confident air about him.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Making Dominique mad." Lily looked up just in time to see Dominique looking back at her from quite a bit a head, her face pinched into a scowl. Lily glanced away quickly, and back at Scorpius who hadn't taken his eyes off Lily.

"I'm not worried about Dominique," he said as he helped her maneuver herself around a rock.

"Then what are you worried about?" Lily asked, not expected his answer in the slightest.

"You."

Lily nearly choked. "What?" she squeaked. "You don't have to worry about me."

Scorpius sighed, as if it was a very obvious thing that he _did _have to worry about her. "I always worry about you," he said.

Then, the conversation Lily heard the night before slammed into her head with an impact that nearly left her breathless. Anger bubbled up inside of her, but she refused to let it take control of her. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, right."

"You think I'm lying?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you're enhancing the truth," she replied icily, pushing a tangle of hair out of her face with her dirt covered hands. She prayed that wherever they were going would have a shower.

Now both of Scorpius's eyebrows were raised. "Enhancing the- Oh, Merlin. You heard what Albus said last night. I should have known you'd be listening. You rarely sleep!" He swore to himself, shaking his head. "Lily, I didn't think I'd ever have to explain what that conversation meant."

"You don't have to. I understand," Lily said shortly, outraged that he hardly even thought to say the words she wanted to hear most: _It is not true. _

"Lily-"

"Whatever game you're trying to play with me Scorpius, it isn't working."

"It's not a game," he said, any previous emotion on his face gone. Lily realized that he was shielding himself. From what? From her words? Or was it so she couldn't see that she had actually discovered his motives? "If you think it's a game, then you're horribly mistaken."

The tone in his voice hit a nerve. "Oh, I'm sorry. It _is _much more than that, isn't it?" she asked. "It's a scheme! A sick and twisted scheme to _punish _yourself for something that you can't help." Lily knew she was walking on hideously dangerous territory, and the angry flash in Scorpius's eyes told her that he knew exactly where she was going. Nonetheless, Lily kept speaking. "You just want to torment yourself over something that happened years ago, something that you can probably hardly remember-"

Scorpius stopped abruptly, dropping his arm from her waist and grasping her shoulders with both hands. He had a manic glint to his eye now, something that exceeded his usual odd demeanor. "You think I don't remember?" he hissed. "You think I don't remember watching my mother writhe and scream on the floor in agony as Death Eaters tortured her? You think I don't hear that every time I fall asleep at night? You think it's just some _distant memory?_" He was breathing heavily by this point. "If you think that, then you're _definitely _horribly mistaken."

"It doesn't justify what you're doing to me!"

"What?" he demanded incredulously. "_Liking _you?"

Lily's jaw nearly dropped. She was just about to respond when Albus called from up ahead. "Hurry up!" he said. "You are never going to believe what we are looking at! _Hurry!_" So, Lily and Scorpius scrambled over more pine needles and rocks and dirt to where the others were without saying another word. Scorpius still helped Lily through the last bit of forest, but he wasn't nearly as gentle as he was before.

Finally, they reached the others. And Albus was right, Lily could hardly believe what she was looking at. A huge, sprawling castle was right in front of them. It was beautiful, with stone walls and towers and anything you could imagine a castle would have. They stood next to a tiny abandoned hut on the edge of the forest, which reminded Lily of many stories her father told her of that included his half giant friend.

It only took a few moments for Lily to realize what she was looking at. She glanced at her brothers for only a moment, but saw that they could not believe what they were looking at either. It was the first place their father called home, the place where he learned it _all_, the place where he had defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

**A/N:**

**Really don't feel like editing.**

**Sorry for taking forever to update.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, they are always appreciated.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

It was as extravagant as Harry had described to his children. Though it was now covered in cobwebs and a little dusty from years of abandonment, the children could sense the history that lingered in Hogwarts. They could almost hear the babble of students as they walked from class to class, they could almost smell the scent of supper cooking wafting out of the Great Hall, and they could almost _feel_ the magic that had been performed there once long ago.

They had walked up the front steps of the school, performed a simple unlocking spell, and had walked right in. Now they were standing at the doors of the Great Hall, peering inside nervously like they assumed first years would before they had their first dinner at Hogwarts. Lily had a feeling that if they had meant any harm, it would be a lot harder to get inside the school. Though Hogwarts was abandoned by witches and wizards, it did not mean the spirit and soul of the school had fled as well. The doors opened up to the children of the manor like they were welcoming them home, a home that they had been away from for a very, very long time.

It _was _a little eerie, but James conjured fire in the torches that lined the Great Hall, making it seem a lot more lively. Lily had odd little flashes of what it _should _have been like. At this moment, she should have been walking into the Great Hall for over the thousandth time, with all her school friends. She should have waved bye to them so she could join her brothers and cousins for supper. Maybe after supper, she would go and sit in the common room of whatever house she was sorted in to - Ravenclaw, since she probably was not a Gryffindor or a Slytherin and she refused to even _think _about being sorted into Hufflepuff - to study or joke with her housemates about memories that they shared together.

But that was in another life. A life that Lily would never know.

"I feel sick," Rose said as the children walked slowly into the Great Hall, huddled closely together despite the tension between all of them. Dominique seemed to forget all animosity she felt towards Lily, for at that moment she walked so close to her that their arms brushed against each other. "I feel so, so _sick._" Rose's voice was thick with tears. It was the first time in Lily's life that she could really, truly relate to Rose. Lily felt nauseous as well. She felt like something had died inside of her. Now that she was standing in the school that should have been her childhood, she felt like she had lost something crucial, even though she had never had it to begin with.

Lily looked at her brothers, who stood at the head of the group. Images of the lives her brothers should have had flashed through her mind. James and Albus, the famous Potter sons. They were Quidditch jocks, James as a Gryffindor Chaser and Albus as the Seeker. They bantered back and forth and looked out for each other like a normal set of brothers would, not because they absolutely had to because it was essential for their survival, just because their brotherly relationship called for it. They were top of each of their classes - James was Head Boy, a position he passed down to Albus once he left school. James would graduate first, on to have a successful career on a Quidditch team, and Albus second, going to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an auror. The only problem the boys would ever face was their school nemesis, Scorpius Malfoy.

Lily turned her gaze to Scorpius.

Scorpius Malfoy would be everything anybody would expect him to be - a Malfoy. An arrogant and snarky womanizer, but quite clever and talented when it came to school and Quidditch. He grew up with both of his parents in the giant Malfoy Manor that his grandparents had passed down to his father. He was spoiled and bratty, thanks to his parents, but his demanding lifestyle would allow him to become one of the leading men at the Ministry once he left school, possibly in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Department of International Magic Cooperation. He would have no connection with the Potter-Weasley family unless, of course, the bad air between his family and Lily's was counted.

"Damn," Scorpius muttered, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. He seemed to be having trouble containing the overwhelming sense of loss he was feeling, just like everyone else. He continued to look around the Great Hall, his eyes reflecting the fire James had conjured.

"This was supposed to be ours," Albus said softly.

James rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "No, Al," he replied quietly. "No, this wasn't supposed to be ours. What it was years ago was supposed to be ours, not this."

Albus swallowed. "I suppose you're right."

The children stood in silence for awhile longer before Albus cleared his throat and turned to face the others. "Well, should we explore?" he asked. "Or should we get started on deciding what to do next?" It was clear that everyone was quite torn. Everyone desperately wanted to explore the school, but they felt that they had a responsibility to sit down and look at what was in front of them.

"I say…" James said, glancing at Albus in a way that seemed almost as if he were asking for permission to speak. Albus nodded, urging James to continue. Lily was surprised. James seemed to have given up his fight for being the leader. Secretly, Lily was relieved. James and Albus were _very _similar, but Albus worked better under high pressure situations. Plus, it was apparent that he knew more. Of course, James did not know that and Lily only knew that because was eavesdropping on his and Scorpius's conversation… But still, Lily felt more secure with Albus as their leader. "I say," James repeated, "that we explore. Let's worry about this tomorrow. For at least one day, we should be able to explore this… this _place_."

Albus took a deep breath and nodded again. "I agree. But… I think I should set some ground rules," he said hesitantly.

"_You _should set ground rules?" Louis demanded. "What are you, our father?"

"Be quiet," Lily snapped. "He might as well be if you're going to act like a child!"

Lily was _not _going to put up with Louis's whininess, she knew that much. She might be horribly terrified of Dominique and Rose, but Louis she could handle. "Shut up, Daffodil," Louis sneered, but he shut up. Lily was pleased to see a flush form on his cheeks in embarrassment. Dominique and Rose looked as if they were about to say something, but a steely look from Albus shut them up. Even Dominique and Rose could get tired of arguing.

"Alright," Albus said, breathless. Lily figured he was nervous. Hell, everyone had basically handed him the leadership role with only feeble arguments. "Okay. I mean, we're safe here. Dad sent us here, so we're safe. We don't have too much to worry about. Nonetheless, if anyone is in any danger - life threatening or not - send meyour patronus. If I'm in any danger, I'll send Scorpius mine." There was an uneasy shift amongst the children. Nobody had ever had to produce a patronus in the face of actual danger before. Undoubtedly, they were each wondering if they'd be able to do it. "Next, don not wander anywhere that seems questionable. Do not leave the castle without consulting me. And please," he said, giving Rose, Dominique, and Lily a firm look, "_please _do not fight. You have to stay on your best behavior until this is all over. Until after we figure out what we have to do."

"In other words, can we trust you to make sure your cat isn't murdered?" Scorpius asked Lily, his tone ice cold. It was like a slap in the face. Lily looked away quickly, refusing to let Scorpius see her facial expression, only to see that Dominique was smirking triumphantly. Leo meowed indignantly at Lily's feet before rubbing his head gently against her injured ankle.

Albus turned his gaze to Scorpius for a moment, but must have decided to dismiss whatever he was going to say. "Alright, you can go. Oh… Don't get too emotionally attached."

The children hesitated. Scorpius was the first to go, and then the others departed in pairs. Lily and Leo were left alone, and Lily could hardly count Leo as a valid partner. She left the Great Hall slowly, partially because of her ankle and partially because she was distracted. Lily knew that if she and Scorpius had not argued in the forest, he would be by her side at that moment and she would not be exploring Hogwarts for the first time alone.

…

Lily made her way around the huge castle, not looking for anything particular. What she really wanted to see was the Astronomy Tower, but she knew that she needed to wait until it was nighttime. During the daylight, the Astronomy Tower would be just another tower, but at night… at _night, _surely the tower would give a spectacular view of the stars.

As she ran her hands along the stonewalls and up the stair rails, Lily felt and odd familiarity settle over her. She felt like she had walked the halls of Hogwarts hundreds of times before. She almost knew where she was going before she turned each corner, she felt like she knew where each staircase led. It was like her body knew this is where she was supposed to have spent the last five and next two years of her life. Lily found herself silently apologizing to the school for the Death War, even though it was not her fault. The Death War caused this beautiful school to shut down, to ruin children's chances of experiencing magic the way it should be experienced.

Tears stung her eyes-

"Lily!" Albus's voice rang out in a way of greeting Lily had just rounded a corner and now she was facing her brothers, cousins, and Scorpius once more. Lily hated herself for being petty enough to feel left out. "Lil," Albus called, "come here."

_Where else would I be going? _Lily thought to herself and she limped down the corridor.

She found that everyone was standing in front of a gargoyle statue, which Lily instantly registered as the gargoyle Harry had told her about in many of his stories. It was the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office. The desire to set foot in the office was instantly overwhelming, and the look on her brothers' faces told her they were experiencing the same feeling. The office once belonged to Albus Dumbledore, Harry's greatest influence during his defeat of Voldemort. "We're trying to guess the password," Albus said once Lily was by his side. "Any guesses?"

"Er…" Lily was clueless. "No."

"You don't understand how important this is," Rose said impatiently. "Do you know what is kept up in the Headmaster's Office?" she demanded. When Lily didn't respond, Rose said, "Well, _do you?_"

Lily shook her head. "No."

"The Sorting Hat, you undereducated dimwit!" Rose snapped, and Lily flinched. She half expected Scorpius to speak up, but when she didn't her already gloomy mood plummeted ever farther. She also was angry at Rose for belittling her and spoke before she even thought about what she was doing.

"Sorry I haven't spent most of my time studying a school that I would never even attend, Rose! Sorry that I actually accepted it and moved on-"

"We're here now, aren't we?" Rose snapped. "It must have paid off! I'm not wandering blindly around like an idiot! You're supposed to be interested in this stuff! You're Lily _Potter _for Merlin's sake-"

Suddenly, the gargoyle leapt aside. All of the children exchanged glances, aside from Lily and Scorpius, and Hugo whispered, "Wow." Lily resisted the urge to mention that for once in his life, Hugo was interested in something magical rather than something muggles created.

"The password was Potter," Albus said.

"Odd," Scorpius said softly.

"Very odd," Dominique agreed, and grinned when Scorpius flashed her a smile.

Lily hated everything and everyone at that moment. Wasn't Scorpius supposed to be mad at Dominique for instructing Rose to drop Leo over the side of the tower at the manor? Wasn't he supposed to care about _Leo? _A nasty little voice in the back of Lily's mind told her that she was not mad at Scorpius for not caring about Leo, but mad at Scorpius for appearing not to care about Lily.

After a few more words, the children found themselves riding up the twirling staircase that led up to the Headmaster's Office. Once they were inside, they were astonished. Though covered in dust and cobwebs, just as the rest of the castle, the office was beautiful. It was huge and circular, with many windows that had heavy curtains covering them. James conjured more fire in the torches and the room was suddenly illuminated, revealing a large portrait of Albus Dumbledore right behind what would have been the Headmaster's chair. He was sleeping or appeared to be sleeping. Lily wondered if he would wake up-

"Here it is," Rose said, darting across the room to a old ratty hat sitting on a shelf. "Here's the Sorting Hat. Should we put it on?" She asked eagerly. "Should we see if it still works?"

"Of course it still works," Louis said loftily. "It's the _Sorting Hat._"

…

Five minutes later, the children were sitting around a small table that the hat was now placed on. They had pulled around spare chairs and after arranging them in a circle around the table, took their seats. They stared nervously at the Sorting Hat, now a little reluctant to put it on. They felt like they were tempting destiny. They were never supposed to attend Hogwarts, so who were they put the Sorting Hat on to sort themselves into a house that would never matter?

"Who will go first?" Albus asked, his voice wavering. Obviously, he wasn't volunteering.

"Not it," Scorpius drawled from his spot on the velvet covered chair he was sprawled in. He wore a smirk that hurt Lily's heart. It was the fake smirk that Lily associated with Scorpius before she got to know him. It was his _strange _smirk. The one that made her think he was so odd.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Rose snapped. "_I'll _go. I hope I'm in Gryffindor; its sounds like it'd be the best… Dumbledore was in it!" She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…"

A strange sense of déjà vu passed over the children, but they quickly dismissed it as Rose swallowed and carefully removed the hat from the table. As Rose held it out in front of her, Dominique rested her hand on Rose's knee. Slowly, carefully, Rose placed it on her head. The children waited for a few seconds, and finally, Rose grinned. Milliseconds later, the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" piercing the silence of the office.

Rose pulled the hat off and handed it to James, who seemed to want to get it over with. He pulled the hat over his head, and… "GRYFFINDOR!" James slumped in relief and passed the hate to Louis. Louis gingerly placed the hat on his head, appalled at how dusty it was, and it screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Lily giggled loudly, pleased. Of course, Louis would get the worst house.

"You take it then," Louis snapped, yanking the hat off and thrusting it in her lap. "Let's see what _you're _in. You're not smart enough to be a Ravenclaw, not bad enough to be a Slytherin, and definitely not brave enough to be a…"

Louis's voice disappeared, for Lily had pulled the hat over her head.

_Ah, _a voice whispered in her ear. _Oh, yes, your head is much better than that boy's. After all these years alone, I hoped I would not have to read a mind like Louis Weasley's so soon after I restarted my job. _Lily thought nothing. Or, at least she tried to think nothing. Though the hat was not speaking, she could feel it pondering, picking its way through her brain. _You're a lot like your father, _it finally decided. _But, you are not difficult to place like he was. You will be quite easy, really. You already know what house you will be in, though you do not know you know it. _The hat was quiet for a long moment. _Good luck, Lily Potter. _

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily smiled delightedly, though she was a little spooked at the hat's good luck wishes. She gave the hat to Hugo, hoping her hands were not shaking. He took it from her, meeting her eyes for a moment, before putting it on his head. Surprisingly, the hat only took a few moments to yell, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily nodded and grinned with a new found respect at Hugo when he pulled it off of his head. Lily made a mental note to talk to Hugo more. Maybe his personality would surprise her. He returned her smile and handed the hat to Dominique, who stared at it for a long moment. She placed it on her head, and nearly an entire minute passed. Dominique's facial expression was odd; she seemed almost desperate. Finally, the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Dominique drew in a shaky breath before nodding and handing the hat to Scorpius. He did not look too concerned about the sorting. Actually, he looked like he did not care at all. Lily resisted the hysterical urge to laugh once he placed the hat on his head - he looked so _funny _-but she did not have time, because the hat had hardly touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" A ghost of a smile passed over Scorpius's face, and he took the hat off. Lily realized he had completely expected to be placed in Slytherin. He was a Malfoy, after all. He was born into a family of Slytherins. He was _proud _to be in Slytherin.

Finally, the hat was in Albus's hands. Lily watched as her brother shakily placed the hat on his head. She was a little shocked at how nervous Albus seemed. He was genuinely concerned over which house he was sorted in. Lily wondered if he was concerned that his father would be disappointed if he wasn't in Gryffindor. Though Albus kept a straight face, Lily could see the lines of tension on her brother's face when an entire minute passed, then two, then three… Lily began to grow concerned as well.

Lily and James made eye contact, their eyes holding nothing but worry, then looked back at Albus-

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus tore the hat off his head and threw it back on the table. He covered his face with his hands for a few seconds before running them through his hair and standing up. He said nothing, but he did not have to. Albus's face said it all. He was completely horrified with himself. He could not believe he was placed in Slytherin. He was supposed to be a _Gryffindor, _for Merlin's sake! Lily watched as internal panic consumed her brother.

After looking at each person in the office, Albus turned and tore out the room, nearly knocking down a chair in the process.

**A/N:**

**Okay. There. **

**I'm really not feeling the author's notes lately, guys. I'm really sorry. **

**I love your reviews, and more are always appreciated.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Well," Scorpius said, his voice laced with sarcasm, as he rose from his chair "_I _don't think Slytherin is that horrible."

"Of course you don't," James said, massaging his temples. There was an unspoken agreement that Albus should be left alone, at least for a little while. He had only stormed out of the office mere moments before and the tension in the room was still high. "You _are _a Slytherin."

"Right, but Albus seems to think differently," Rose snapped as she picked up the Sorting Hat and placed it back on the shelf. "Which is why we need to be very sensitive. He grew up with a Gryffindor as a father and Gryffindor as a mother and both of his siblings were placed in Gryffindor, so surely he feels like there is something wrong with him!"

"But Slytherin's aren't bad," James interjected. "They're not bad at all-"

"I wouldn't say _that,_" Scorpius drawled, winking at Dominique. She flushed in return and offered him what was probably supposed to be a seductive smile but all Lily saw was a hideous demon. A hideously beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed demon who was one-eighth Veela and incredibly charming when she wanted to be.

Lily swallowed that annoying lump in her throat and stood up from her chair, the legs squealing as she pushed it back. Scorpius and Dominique looked up when she stood, but made no indication of a longing for her to stay. After Scorpius's suggestive remark to Dominique, Lily's whole body seemed to hurt more than it already. It was like the soreness caused by her fall in the woods was intensified by a thousand. Leo, who had diligently followed Lily all throughout Hogwarts that day, sensed her discomfort and rubbed his head against her ankle.

Lily limped toward the door, but stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of Dumbledore's portrait behind the old desk. He was watching her leave, a studious expression on his face. Nobody else in the room noticed that Lily had stopped to look at the portrait. Scorpius might have, but when he glanced at her he quickly directed his attention back to Dominique.

Lily squinted at Dumbledore, wondering if she was mistaken. No, he was definitely watching her. Lily reached for the doorknob that would open the door to lead her back to the spinning staircase and spared Dumbledore one last look, silently swearing she would come back to talk to him.

…

Lily needed to shower. Lily desperately, _desperately _needed to shower. It was not as if she smelled or anything, but she hated the thought of having not showered in two days. She was starving as well, and everyone seemed to forget that eating was essential to survive, but since she probably had a better chance of finding a shower rather than food, she made that the first task on her agenda.

Her first thought was to find the most secluded bathroom in the school, but it was quickly made obvious that her ankle was not up for the challenge. Lily made it up one flight of stairs from the first floor and found that her ankle and foot were throbbing, so the second floor bathroom would have to do. She pushed open the door and was happy to find that it was not too dusty.

Lily's feet echoed on the tile as she walked, her limp making the echo seem awkward and uneven. Lily was focusing on the echo when a very shrill voice sounded throughout the bathroom. "_Who _are _you?_"

Lily spun around, nearly falling again. Across the bathroom, floating about a foot in the air, was a quite pathetic looking girl dressed in a Hogwarts uniform. It did not take long for Lily to realize that this was a ghost. A ghost that she should have remembered lived in the second floor girls' lavatory. Moaning Myrtle. She looked just like her father had described. Rather gawky with frizzy hair and quite a few pimples.

"L-Lily Potter," Lily stammered, figuring that the girl would recognize the last name and not give her too much trouble.

"That's rubbish," Myrtle sniffed, floating over to where Lily stood and circling around her, as if inspecting her. "Lily Evans went to school here a long time ago, graduated, and married James Potter. Then she got herself _killed. _I knew her son, though. He was quite a nice boy," she mused, smiling at some old memory. "A very, very nice boy."

"I'm not _Lily _Potter," Lily snapped, realizing how odd that sounding coming out of her mouth considering she technically was Lily Potter, just not the Lily Potter Myrtle was talking about. "I'm Lily Potter, the second. I'm named after Lily Potter. Lily Evans Potter, that is. She is my grandmother. Was my grandmother." Lily never knew how to refer to her father's parents. "Harry Potter, her son, is my father."

"You don't look like him," Myrtle said, suspicious, still circling Lily.

"I look like my mother," Lily said, annoyed.

"Who is?"

"She _was _Ginny Weasley, but she's Ginny Potter now."

"Oh, that _girl,_" Myrtle sneered. "I remember her. Yes, I remember her quite clearly. What are you doing here, Lily Potter?" Myrtle asked, her tone changing suddenly as if she just realized that there had been no students at Hogwarts for years and years.

"I'm trying to have a shower," Lily said, not wanting to explain her circumstances to a ghost who seemed to have a crush on Harry and hated Ginny for marrying him. "If it is a problem, I will go find another bathroom." Leo meowed indignantly at her feet, as if to emphasize Lily's words.

"Very well," Myrtle snapped. "Years of abandonment and when people finally show up again, they _still _don't want to talk to me." Her voice was thick with tears, but Lily could not find it in herself to feel bad. "I'll just _leave!_"

Myrtle disappeared.

Lily rolled her eyes, trying to shake her annoyed feelings. Finally, Lily was able to reach the showers and open the curtains. She quickly stripped her clothes and put them in a pile outside the shower with her wand laying on top. Leo darted in after her, and Lily watched him, amazed. "You're a cat," she told him. "You're not supposed to like water."

Leo certainly didn't look happy that he would be misted with water, and stayed right on the edge of the shower, but he refused to leave. Once the water was running, Leo seemed to regret staying even more but still huddled in the corner. Lily had a feeling that the cat didn't trust her to be alone after witnessing Scorpius's flirtation with Dominique. Hell, Lily would not have left herself alone either.

The water stung the cuts on her ankle and because of her injuries, taking a shower was a lot harder than it should have been. Finally, Lily felt clean enough to get out. She shut the water off and felt around outside the curtain to find her clothes. Lily peered out when her hand touched tile. Her clothes and wand were _gone._

"Oh, you have got to be joking," Lily muttered to herself. She looked down the row of showers, and still couldn't find her clothes. Lily's anger had hit it's peak and was know overflowing. "_Damn it!_" she yelled, slamming her hand against the tiled wall. Lily was completely finished with this bad luck. She was not going to put up with it anymore.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Myrtle asked, suddenly appearing in front of her.

"Did you take my clothes?" Lily demanded, ignoring Myrtle's hideous laughter. "Did you?"

"No," Myrtle said, her whole face lit up. Apparently, Myrtle took pleasure in the fact that Lily was going to have to go walk through the castle stark naked to find another pair of clothes. "No, I didn't."

"Who did?" Lily asked. "You saw who did, didn't you?"

"A blonde," Myrtle said, suddenly downtrodden again, "and a red head."

Lily swore in a very unladylike fashion before stomping angrily past the shower curtain and down the row of showers. Relief flooded through her when she saw a cabinet of towels at the end. Luckily, they weren't _too _moth eaten. Lily dug around in the back of the cabinet and managed to find a towel that had hardly collected any dust. After wrapping it around herself, she stormed out of the bathroom, the adrenaline she was feeling making the pain in her ankle practically nonexistent.

Something told her that everyone would be in the Great Hall, either speaking with Albus or waiting for him to arrive after his meltdown in the Headmaster's Office. Lily didn't _care _that she was in a towel, she didn't _care _that Scorpius was going to see more skin than he had ever seen before, and she didn't _care _that what she was about to say to Dominique and Rose would probably only make them hate her more.

When she arrived, she pushed both doors open and stalked in. Everyone was present, except for Albus. Scorpius looked up first and his eyebrows rose in surprise. Dominique and Rose burst into snickers, which Hugo and Louis joined in on. James was the only one who looked thunderstruck, but Lily's anger was probably enough to exceed a thousand of James.

"Are you _happy _now?" Lily demanded when she was standing in front of Dominique and Rose. Their laughter increased and Lily nearly leapt across the table they were sitting at and strangled them. "You managed to ruin my childhood, nearly kill my cat, and _now _you have humiliated me more than I can describe!"

The laughed harder, and Lily just about screamed.

"Is this the only thing you're good at?" Lily asked. "Making my life hell? You're not that talented when it comes to magic, and trust me, when it comes to common sense you're both about as dumb as doorknobs." Lily knew Rose and Dominique were both very smart, but she knew it would make them both angry. One thing you never did unless you wanted to make a scene was insult a witch or wizard's magical abilities.

"Oh, Daffodil," Louis said from beside his sister. "Just be quiet-"

"_You _shut up!" Lily finally shouted, rounding on Louis. "I've had it up to here with you! You're not smart, you're not funny, you're not handsome. You're just annoying! You're stupid and annoying and arrogant and you have absolutely _no _place here whatsoever! All you do is complain and lag behind and make life more difficult for all of us-"

"Lily," Scorpius intervened, to Lily's surprise.

She paid no attention. "I don't care what you have to say, Scorpius," she snapped. Lily was completely blinded by rage and she did not care what left her mouth. "You can try to act like you know so much, like you have seen so much, but the truth is that you were stuck in the manor about as long as we were and you're just as clueless about what to do than everyone else!"

"_What _is going on?" Albus's voice cut in, and everyone turned to see him walking down the middle of the Great Hall. His eyes were red rimmed and his hair was messier than usual. Lily had a feeling that only she, James, and Scorpius noticed. "Well?" he asked when he reached the table. "What is with all the shouting?"

"Your sister is having some type of fit," Scorpius said from where he leaned against a table. He seemed to have shut himself off again, but Lily could not find it in herself to care.

"Your cousins took my damned clothes and wand when I was showering!" Lily snapped, feeling sort of like nark, but still not caring.

"You're fucking joking," Albus said flatly, glaring at Rose and Dominique. "Can you two show an _ounce _of maturity?" Finally, Rose and Dominique stopped laughing. Lily resisted the urge to clap condescendingly at them for finally being able to follow directions. "For the love of fucking Merlin," Albus said, his voice quickly rising to a shout, "what is with you two? Can you two act like adults for a little while? A few hours at most? It would be so _refreshing!_"

Everyone was surprised at how fast Albus's temper had escalated.

"We are in a fucking _war_," he snarled. "The manor was raided and you act like we are on a vacation! There's a reason we're at Hogwarts, and it's not so we can explore the school we were supposed to attend. We're here so we can stay safe and figure out what the hell we're supposed to do! Please, for my sake, for my _father's _sake, can you act like an adult? I'm not here to babysit you, James isn't here to babysit you, Scorpius isn't, and Lily _definitely _isn't!"

"Albus," Rose said, her face red with humiliation and anger, "what the-"

"Don't argue with me," Albus snapped. "Swallow your pride for once, Rose. You know what you did was wrong."

"Why are you blaming it only on me?" Rose asked, for once her face a mask of shock. "Dominique was there!"

"Dominique did it only because you said to!" Albus exploded. "Rose, I used to think we were friends. I even put up with your stupid little pranks on my sister, even though I hated that you did it. Why? Because I thought behind all of that bullshit you were smart. I guess not. I guess under pressure, you are just a naïve little girl." Finally, he looked at Dominique. "So are you. You don't even know Lily. You haven't lived with her for as long as we have. She didn't do anything to you, yet you follow Rose around and help her with every stupid scheme she has planned to ruin my sister's life. That's what you are. A _follower._"

Finally, Albus was quiet. Everyone was holding their breath, expecting him to start shouting again. At this time, it fully clicked in Lily's head that she was standing in front of her family and _Scorpius Malfoy _wearing only a towel. Her hair was stuck to the back of her neck and dripping water on the floor. As Lily began to shiver from her lack of clothing, Scorpius turned his gaze on her. Lily pretended she didn't notice, and glanced away, but she could still feel his eyes on her. She wondered why he was watching her. Was it because she was only wearing a towel and he had never seen so much of her skin? Or was it because he was upset that she had got his little girlfriend in trouble?

Lily's thoughts were directed back to Albus when Rose stood up. She stalked over to him, their noses nearly touching. "Serves you right to be placed in Slytherin, _Potter,_" she spat, and Albus cringed at the use of the words "Slytherin" and "Potter" in the same sentence. Rose grinned emotionlessly. "Your father would be proud." The sarcasm in her voice was evident.

The look of horror and self-disgust returned to Albus's suddenly pale face. Those green, red rimmed eyes looked suspiciously wet in the light of the torches. Lily had never seen Albus look so defeated. Lily _hated _Rose for doing that to Albus, for saying those words that hurt him so much. She hated Rose more than she had ever hated anything. Lily's anger hit its peak again faster than she could have thought possible.

So, towel still wrapped around her body, Lily threw herself at Rose. It was only a matter of seconds before her fist connected with her cousin's face.

**A/N:**

**Oh, Lily. Lily, Lily, Lily.**

**Guys. Seriously. You need to relax about the placing of the houses. There's a reason they each ended up where they did, trust me. But still, your input was fun to read. (: Now Lily is fighting with Rose, and I can't wait to see what you guys have to say about that.**

**Thanks for the reviews! They are always appreciated!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Seventeen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Rose screamed, but Lily did not care.

Lily's hands were acting on their own. They slapped, they punched, they pulled hair. It only took a few moments for Rose to start fighting back, but in those few moments Lily got in a few excellent punches. The time Lily had punched Rose on the tower was definitely _not _enough for all the built up anger Lily felt toward her. With each blow, Lily could feel herself start to feel better. It was terrible, but it was the truth. Hitting Rose made Lily feel in control for once in her life.

When Rose started to hit back, Lily could hardly feel it. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins. There were hands trying to pull her back and arms around her waist, trying to force her to move away but _nothing _was going to stop Lily from getting back at Rose. Absolutely nothing.

Looking into those stupid blue eyes, Lily could see all the resentment Rose felt towards her and it only fueled Lily's anger. Lily scratched at her face, and was disturbingly satisfied when she drew blood. She almost _laughed. _The others were still trying desperately to pull Lily off of Rose, but nothing worked. Even Leo was hissing at her to stop. The only thing that almost snapped Lily out of it was Scorpius's voice shouting in her ear, "You're hurting her, Lily! You're _hurting her!_"

Lily was. Rose was only putting up a feeble fight at this point, but Lily was too far gone. She grabbed Rose's hair, yanked her head up and prepared to slam it into the stone floor-

Rose reached around Lily with one last gust of strength, grasped a fistful of the white fluffy towel that was still wrapped around Lily, and pulled. The towel came right off of Lily, leaving her completely naked.

Lily instantly pulled away - but to do what? To stand up? Obviously not.

It happened quickly, so quickly Lily hardly realized it was happening. A hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her upward, and then the side of her face was against someone's chest. Lily knew who it was instantly. The smell of sweet books and the crispness of winter engulfed her. Scorpius was covering the back of her body with the towel Rose had pulled off, and to Lily's complete shock - and humiliating pleasure - the front of her body was pressed right up against him. There was no towel between the two of them, only Scorpius's clothes. He had pulled her up so fast that he only had time to shove her up against his body and then cover her backside with the towel.

Lily inhaled sharply.

"Get her out of here, Scorpius," Albus said tiredly. "Get her _out. _I don't think she should be around Rose right now." Rose was groaning weakly on the floor. Crushing guilt hit her like a tone of bricks. She had hurt Rose. She had literally beaten Rose until she was on the floor crying.

Everyone was watching Lily and Scorpius with a half shocked, half embarrassed expression on their face, aside from Albus. He just seemed exhausted and upset. Scorpius did not care. His only concern was Lily, whose cheek was still resting against his chest. "Turn around," Scorpius snapped. Everyone gave him a blank stare. "Turn the _hell _around! How would you like it if someone saw you stark naked without your permission?"

Realization dawned on everyone's faces and they all glanced away awkwardly. Hugo even went as far as turning completely around.

Scorpius disregarded the others and pulled away from Lily so he was a few inches away from her. Lily could tell he was avoiding looking down and she was so grateful she could have wept. She knew that he had probably seen a little bit, if not all of her, but the fact that he still had enough respect to be a gentleman made her so thankful.

He pulled the towel away from them, still managing to shield her body from the others, and wrapped it back around her body. Lily grasped the towel together firmly, horrified to see that her humiliation caused her to start shaking.

Scorpius grasped her arm and pulled her quickly out of the Great Hall, still managing to be careful of her sprained ankle. They walked down a corridor and turned. Lily glanced up at Scorpius, horrified to see that his cheeks were stained faintly pink. _Oh, no, _she thought. Of course, it was natural for him to be embarrassed but his blush only confirmed her fear of him seeing her. It was stupid to hope that he hadn't, but she could not help it.

Lily was suddenly overcome by emotions. Stupid, hideous emotions. The sadness she felt for Albus's self-disappointment, the anger she felt toward Rose, the guilt she felt for beating Rose up, and the humiliation she felt for everyone seeing her naked. _Especially _the humiliation she felt for Scorpius seeing her naked.

It must have become apparent that Lily could not walk anymore and that she was shaking too much to go on. Scorpius stopped halfway down the second corridor and placed himself in front of her. He grasped her shoulders firmly, trying to get her to make eye contact with him. Finally, he reached up with one had and placed it under her chin, lifting her head so she was forced to look at him.

Those gray eyes searched Lily's brown ones. There was so much emotion in those eyes, emotion for her, emotion for the situation they were in. His eyes told her that he understood. He knew that she was angry, sad, and scared. Scorpius _understood._

Those emotions bubbled over and instead of coming out in anger, they come out in frustrated sadness. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she looked away from Scorpius, trying to pull away. But he held her where she was. "_Lily_," he said softly. "You did absolutely nothing wrong." He hesitated. "Of course, beating someone probably was not the best answer… But, honestly? She had it coming."

Lily shook her head, refusing to speak. She did not want Scorpius to see her this way. She did not want anybody to see her this way. He was being so kind to her, like he always was when she was upset. Then, Lily remembered what she had said to him in the forest and she began to cry harder. She looked down again, her humiliation increasing. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong," he said, cupping her face in his hands, forcing her to look at her again, forcing her to look into those brilliantly gray eyes again. "You never did anything wrong. Lily. Please. Please, listen to me."

"How much did you see?" Lily whispered, suddenly desperate to know.

"What?" he asked, confused. Then realization seemed to hit. "Oh."

"How much?" she asked, her face turning redder.

The pink tinge to his cheeks returned. "I saw quite a bit," he admitted.

"Oh, Merlin," Lily said, choking on her tears. "I'm so embarrassed." Scorpius's arms were around her in an instant. Lily's tears seemed to be a weakness for him.

"Don't be," he said softly. "Don't be. Please, Lily. Don't. You couldn't help it."

"But you saw _everything_," Lily whispered. "I had an angry meltdown, nearly killed my cousin, and you saw me naked." She took a shaky breath and began rambling, like she often did. This time she sounded frantic, considering she was crying at the same time. She was jumping from one thing to another. Lily could not seem to control her thoughts. "I'm so embarrassed. I hate myself. I _hate_ myself. How did I lose control like that? How could I hurt Rose? How could I be so satisfied while I was hurting her?"

Scorpius held her tightly. "You're only human, Lily. She did you wrong. You were mad."

Lily's head was resting in the crook of Scorpius's neck. "But I was different, Scorpius. I wasn't _me. _I wasn't myself. Please, tell me you understand." Now she was begging. Lily didn't understand what was happening to her. Why couldn't she control her thoughts? "I don't know what's happening to me," she whispered.

"I know," Scorpius murmured. "I know you don't understand. I will help you through it," he continued softly. "You're just overwhelmed. A lot has happened in the past few days. You've been worried and angry and scared. This is a lot to take in." He ran the tips of his fingers up and down her back. "Take a deep breath."

It was then that Lily finally realized why Scorpius was so comforting to her at that moment, why his low voice speaking into her ear was so helpful. This meltdown Lily was having was similar to what he went through sometimes. When he was up in his bedroom at the manor, banging his furniture around, punching walls, drinking all the liquor… Lily was experiencing what he felt - on a much smaller level and for completely different reasons.

Lily listened to his voice for a long time until finally she was done crying and she had stopped shaking. Lily gently pulled away from him, and looked up to see his face. She took another deep breath and nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Anytime," he replied.

"I'm sorry you had to see me… naked," Lily said awkwardly, praying he wouldn't respond with some sexual innuendo.

He smiled. "Don't feel bad about it, Lily. Really, it is not that big of a deal."

"It's just humiliating. I mean, I'm nothing compared to Rose and Dominique. They have had spectacular bodies since they were thirteen and I'm just stuck over here with hardly anything to work with and-"

"Don't compare yourself to them," he said quickily. "It's not something you need to worry about, trust me. Don't compare yourself to them," he repeated.

Had he just complemented her?

"Listen," Scorpius continued, "I need to go make sure Albus is alright." Lily nodded fervently, glad that Scorpius was as concerned with Albus as she was. "I don't want to leave you alone. It will only take a moment, and you can wait outside of the Great Hall if you'd like. Then we can go find some clothes," he added, grinning.

Lily nodded and began to follow Scorpius back in the direction they had come from. Lily's head was spinning. Scorpius had hugged her. Hugged her. Full on, arms wrapped around her body, _hugged _her. He had been so kind to her, like he always was. Or like he was most of the time, anyway. That's where the confusion came in. He had been horrible to her all day. Scorpius had flirted with Dominique, pointedly using it as revenge to get back at Lily.

Lily was not going to forget how mean he had been. She also was not going to forget the conversation she had heard between Albus and Scorpius and how Albus had suspected Scorpius was using Lily to punish himself. In a twisted, awful sort of way, Lily was secretly pleased that she had so much influence over Scorpius to make him think that getting close to her and leaving her could hurt him enough to be considered a punishment. That definitely did not mean Lily was going to allow Scorpius to control her, whether he meant to or not. Lily was going to hold her ground.

Once they reached the Great Hall, Scorpius slipped inside and left Lily by the doors. She exhaled, trying to categorize her thoughts. Scorpius was confusing, yes, but that was not her main concern. Her main concern was Albus's emotional stability. Lily had to shove every thought she had out of her mind and think of Albus, and only Albus. If there was anybody who could lead them through whatever journey they were about to take, it was him. Albus needed to be in a good position to lead them and it was clear that he was not. Lily had to figure out how to help him-

Then it hit her. She would take Albus to see Dumbledore's portrait. Not only would this satisfy her curiosity about Dumbledore, but if anybody could put Albus's worries at rest it was his namesake. If Dumbledore was the man Harry described him to be, he would be able to help Albus. Of course, his portrait was nothing compared to what the real thing, but it would have to do considering Albus Dumbledore had been dead for years and was not coming back.

Lily waited impatiently for what seemed like decades, and finally she gave up on waiting. She had to find some clothes, and unfortunately, the only place she would find clothes was with the person she absolutely did not want to see. If she was lucky though, Rose would still be a little incoherent from their brawl and hand of the little bag containing a few all of their supplies with a fight.

James was the first to look up when Lily entered the Great Hall again and he quickly tried to stop her. "Lils, this isn't the best time," he said, meeting her in the middle of the Great Hall. Lily glanced around him to see that Scorpius was still desperately trying to reason with Albus at what she imagined to be the Slytherin table. Her eyes moved to the others, who were sitting at what had to be the Gryffindor table.

"I need clothes," Lily said. "I need the bag that Rose has so I can get so clothes." She hesitated. "I also need my wand back, and Rose and Dominique have it."

James sighed, and nodded. "Alright, then. Don'ttackle anyone." His tone was firm, but he elbowed her and gave her a smile. Lily felt warm and fuzzy. At least _someone _was proud of her. Of course, fighting was not the best way to go about it, but Lily had finally truly stood up for herself and nobody had really seemed to acknowledge it.

"Rose," James said, when they reached the table she was at. She looked up, her blue eyes seeming oddly unfocused, surprised that Lily was back already. "Lily needs her wand and some clothes. You know where her wand is, and there should be some fresh clothes in the bag."

"Right," Rose said softly. A feeling of unease spread through Lily. The unfocused look in Rose's eyes had not gone away.

James, sensing Lily's discomfort, leaned down to whisper in her ear, "We think she has a concussion."

Instead of feeling happy that Rose had a concussion - karma was a bitch, wasn't it? - Lily felt horrible. She sincerely hoped Rose would be okay.

Dominique reached into her back pocket and withdrew Lily's wand. "Here," she said abruptly, handing the wand back to her. Dominique helped Rose search the bag for some clothes and made no effort to apologize. Lily did not expect her to, so she was not disappointed.

Rose gave Lily a pair of jeans that were, luckily, Lily's size, an oversized green t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers without saying a word. Lily turned on her heel and left the Great Hall, limped to the first floor restroom, changed, and was back within ten minutes. Once she had gotten back, she did not even look in Rose and Dominique's direction. She headed straight toward Albus and Scorpius who had yet to notice her.

"Lily-" Scorpius began when Lily reached them.

"Albus," Lily said, paying no attention to Scorpius. Despite the butterflies that formed in her stomach in Scorpius's presence, she had to put her brother first. Albus turned his gaze to his sister and Lily's mood seemed to hit rock bottom. Poor, poor Albus… He so desperately wanted their father's approval. If only he knew he already had it.

"Lil," he said, "I can't-"

"I'm not here to tell on anyone," Lily said impatiently, trying to soften her tone. "I want you to see something."

"Lily, we need to figure out what we're going to do-"

"It will only take fifteen minutes. A half an hour at most. Please, Albus," Lily begged. "You will not regret it, I promise."

Scorpius and Albus exchanged looks, and finally, Albus sighed and nodded. "Okay." He stood up from his spot on the bench placed near the table.

"Scorpius," Lily said. "Can you watch Leo for awhile?"

Scorpius eyed the cat who had been following Lily around all day, never leaving her side. "I suppose," Scorpius agreed reluctantly. Lily thanked him, resisting the urge to laugh at Scorpius's hesitance to babsit Leo, and began toward the doors of the Great Hall, Albus walking at her side.

"Where exactly are we going?" Albus asked as Lily led him out of the Great Hall and toward the staircase.

"You'll see."

**A/N:**

**No editing today, sorry. I **_**really **_**can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Eighteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Wait!" James shouted as he ran to catch up with Albus and Lily. "For Merlin's sake, _wait! _Where are you two going?"

Lily stopped and turn to face James, who had reached them by now. They were halfway to the Headmaster's Office. She instantly felt horrible for not bothering to include James in the meeting with Dumbledore's portrait. She would not wish the feeling that sibling exclusion brought on anyone, even her brothers who seemed to do it to her all the time. "I'm taking Albus to see Dumbledore's portrait," Lily said, her voice sounding almost apologetic. "Care to join us?"

"Of course," James answered, casting a look at his younger brother that showed Lily he was worried sick about Albus's reaction to being put in Slytherin.

"You're taking me to see Dumbledore?" Albus asked incredulously. "Lil, the last person I want to see is Dumbledore - my bloody namesake! If anybody is ashamed of me - aside from dad, of course - it would be him. He was a Gryffindor!"

"Albus," Lily said, exasperated. "You know who else is your namesake?"

Albus shifted uncomfortably. "Lily-"

"Severus Snape," James spoke before Lily could respond. She sighed in relief. If anybody could get Albus to go up to the Headmaster's Office without a fight, it was James. "Do you know what house Severus Snape was in? _Slytherin. _Like you. Like Scorpius, your best friend, who you know is not in any way, shape, or form a… bad individual. A bit dark at times? Yes. Cunning and arrogant? Yes. But do you know who else is? _You._"

"James, please-"

"Being in Slytherin isn't bad, Al," Lily interjected softly. "It really isn't."

"Just because you have some weird thing going on with Scorpius doesn't mean-"

"Damn it, Albus!" Lily snapped, her face reddening with anger. "Stop acting like you don't know what is true. You know _exactly _what is true. You know perfectly well what Snape did for our father-"

"For our _grandmother. _He hated dad."

"Be quiet," Lily said impatiently. "It was still noble, wasn't it? Oh, and let's not forget to mention that when dad was sorted, the Sorting Hat wanted to place him in Slytherin. Let's not forget that-"

"But dad was placed in _Gryffindor! _By choice!" Albus shouted, finally losing it, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the corridor. "I tried to reason with the damned hat! I desperately tried to reason with it, and it still placed me in Slytherin. It told me I was more of a Slytherin than a Gryffindor and that I would do better in that house-"

"Listen to the hat, then!" James snapped. "It was right. If you are refusing to let us get through to you, then please let us take you to see Dumbledore. Stop this nonsense."

Albus sighed, defeated, and after few more feeble arguments on his part, he agreed to go to the office with them. They made their way back to the Headmaster's Office and up the moving staircase. Once again, they found themselves in the very dusty, but still very extravagant, circular room.

Albus reluctantly allowed Lily and James to drag him over to the portrait, where Lily was unsurprised to see Dumbledore waiting patiently for them. Albus Dumbledore sat in a red, high-backed, velvet chair, with his hands resting on his lap, his long fingers folded together gracefully. He was exactly as her father had described him to her a thousand times before. Long, white hair and blue eyes hidden behind half-moon spectacles. The knowing twinkle to his eyes shown more prominently than Lily had imagined in her father's stories and she knew almost immediately that taking Albus to see Dumbledore was absolutely, positively the right thing to do.

"I wondered when I would get to meet each of you," was the first thing he said to the Potter children.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore… sir," James said hesitantly.

"It is astonishing," Dumbledore mused, his eyes on James, "how much you look like your grandfather. I suppose I should not be surprised, for your father looks nearly identical to him, but while he is _nearly _you are _exactly. _Right down to the mischievous glint in your eyes, James Potter."

Dumbledore almost immediately turned to Lily at this point. "Lily," he said, smiling. "I do believe we exchanged a silent and brief exchange earlier. Ah, yes, I can see that you inherited your mother's looks… But you are definitely your father's daughter, telling by the fact that you brought your brother within mere hours of seeing me. Excellent timing… I was just about to doze off…"

"Sorry, sir," Lily said hastily. "I did not mean to wake you-"

"Not at all, Lily," he said, "not at all." Finally, _finally, _he turned to Albus, his eyes twinkling more than ever. "Albus Potter. Albus _Severus _Potter. How you look like your father." He shook his head, almost mournfully. "Your resemblance to Harry is almost startling. When you first walked into this office earlier today, I almost thought you _were _him. I am honored to finally meet the young Potter who was named after me and my dear friend.

"Your sister bringing you here was not a mistake, Albus," he said, and Lily quickly looked at Albus to gauge his reaction. His green eyes were locked onto Dumbledore's blue ones, seeming as if he was drinking in the old headmaster's portrait. Color had returned to his cheeks and his eyes were alive again. It was then that Lily finally realized how truly worried she was about Albus. "I saw the reaction you had to your sorting. I understand why you were startled and I know your father would as well. I watched his face as he battled the Sorting Hat, and I will tell you one thing - even if your father _had _been sorted into Slytherin, he would have accomplished everything he has, if not more."

"Professor," Albus said, "there is one problem. My father battled the Sorting Hat… and he won."

"My dear boy," Dumbledore said, chuckling, "you are missing the key point. Gryffindors are excellent, do not get me wrong, but - please do not take offense, James, my friend - who has been able to keep his entire family under control in the midst of a crisis? Who has led them to a safe environment after a tragedy?"

Albus stared blankly at Dumbledore's portrait.

"_You _have, Albus," Dumbledore finally said once he realized Albus was not going to respond.

James and Lily respectfully looked away when they saw Albus's eyes sparkle with water. "I can't do it for much longer, Professor. I…" He swallowed, his voice wavering. "I can't take care of all of them for much longer. I feel like it is slipping through my fingers and it has only been a few days. I have four cousins who have no clue what the word 'maturity' means, a brother who is going to hate me by the end of this, a sister who I can't keep from growing up - how will I explain _that _to my dad? - and a best friend I am pretty certain is going to fall of the edge as soon as something from his past comes up in this whole mess. What do I _do?_"

"You have to trust them to stand by you," Dumbledore said. Suddenly, Hawk's voice was speaking inside of Lily's head. _There will come a time, Lily, when you and the rest of the children of the house will need each other more than anything. You will be each other's greatest weapons. _Dumbledore continued speaking, oblivious to Lily's revelation moment. "Your cousins will find their way, James will forgive you regardless of how far your 'leadership' role goes, though it may shock you, Lily is supposed to grow up, and Scorpius will overlook his traumatic past for what could be a traumatic present. You have to trust them, Albus."

"Sir-"

"Severus, can you join me, please?" Dumbledore called to a portrait three rows up, seven down from his giant one behind the desk.

Lily nearly choked when she realized that Dumbledore was calling Snape over. She was shocked she had not thought to look for Snape's portrait when she arrived. He _was _the headmaster during a period of time, after all. Snape had an odd reputation in the Potter-Weasley family. He was admired and thought highly of, while being hated at the same time. Snape, in Lily's mind, was an intimidating and extremely confusing figure of her father's past.

It took awhile, but finally, Severus Snape joined Dumbledore in his frame. Greasy hair hung in curtains around his face, a few strands falling into his face that included his black eyes and hooked nose. "This, Albus," Dumbledore said, resting a hand on Snape's shoulder, "is Severus Snape. Severus," he said, looked at Snape, "this is Albus Severus Potter. I trust you know who he is?"

It took Snape a long time to respond. It seemed as if he was contemplating even speaking at all. Finally, he said slowly, "Yes, Dumbledore, I know who the boy is."

Lily glanced at Albus, who was watching Snape in a horrified kind of awe. He seemed at a loss for words, but finally, he managed to choke out, "It is an honor, sir, truly." James and Lily both gaped at their brother, who paid them no attention whatsoever. Wasn't it Albus less than a quarter of an hour ago who was completely ignoring the fact that Severus Snape was placed in Slytherin? Wasn't it Albus who seemed to disregard his second namesake completely in the midst of his panic?

If Snape was flustered, the only thing show it was the even straighter line his mouth formed into. He ignored Albus, and spoke to Dumbledore. "He looks like him," Snape said, and if Lily wasn't mistaken, his expression seemed pained. "He looks_ exactly_ like him." It did not take Lily long to realize that Snape was speaking about her father.

"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore said, though he locked eyes with Albus. "Yes he does."

"When I was painted, Dumbledore, you promised I would never have to see him. You promised _you _would tell them of their destiny-"

"I promised you nothing, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly. "The child is in need and all you can think about is your past. We are _teachers, _Severus. Our duty is to help children."

"Sir," James said uneasily, "we are waiting for our parents."

The headmasters turned their gazes to James. If Lily was James, she would have cowered under Snape's glare. The look he was giving her oldest brother was a little uncalled for, but it made sense. While Albus looked like Harry, a mixture of the original Lily and James Potter, James was the spitting image of their grandfather, who had inherited Ginny's longer nose and brown eyes that could easily be mistaken for the original James's hazel. Even in portrait form, Snape hated Lily's grandfather for - in his eyes - stealing her grandmother.

"Your parents are not coming," Snape sneered. "They've been taken."

There was a long moment of silence, and then, Lily giggled. Not just any giggle, either. A high-pitched, hysterical giggle that she _knew _would have made Scorpius laugh all while being horribly concerned for her wellbeing. Dumbledore turned his gaze to Lily patiently, while Albus continued to stare at Snape, who was still glaring at James, who was now watching Dumbledore. "Taken?" James asked. "_Where? _My parents haven't been taken. Impossible."

James seemed to be the only one who fully registered the words that left Snape's mouth.

"Your glory-seeking father made a mistake that will surely cost him his career," Snape snapped.

"And what would that be?" James asked, finally seeming to decide he disliked Snape as much as his namesake had. Lily tried to listen, she really did, but it seemed as if she were staring at her brothers and the portrait through a long black tunnel. "How do you know?"

"Now, now, Potter," Snape said, a sick smile twisting at his lips. "One question at a time. Let's not be hasty."

"_Answer me!_" James shouted, his last thread of patience breaking. This seem to break Albus out of his fixation on Snape. He turned his gaze to James, and Lily knew it was only mere moments until Albus would break into his leadership role once more. Lily still couldn't feel anything, hear anything… She was numb.

"Very well, Potter," Snape said, sighing. "The mistake? Your father listened to the enemy and _believed _them."

"What did they tell him?" Albus asked slowly.

"They told him the manor you and your family resided in had been broken into," Dumbledore said softly.

"Which is true," Albus said, his voice stronger.

"Not the night they left the manor for the last time it wasn't, it wasn't," Snape said. "That night, a clan of Death Eaters managed to convince your father that your manor had been broken into. In his haste to assure that his family was safe, he apparated on the spot to the gates of Hogwarts, his wife, friends, and alliance in tote. Little did precious Harry Potter know that he was walking into a trap. This is where he was ambushed, disarmed, and taken away to Nurmengard along with his merry band of aurors." There was silence. "You and your family were still locked away in the manor. Andre Shroudrouge led the attack on the manor that you managed to escape from, but now, _you _have led your family and best friend into a trap. Just," he said softly, "like your father."

Any admiration Albus felt toward Snape had now disappeared. "How do you know this? You're a fucking portrait, for Merlin's sake."

"I have access to the meeting room in Nurmengard, the headquarters of the new reign of Death Eaters," Snape said. "I have the ability to leave this portrait and travel to the portrait I have in Nurmengard."

Realization dawned on Albus's face. "You're doing the exact same thing you did in the past. You pretend that your not confiding in people on the other side… Yet you're telling me all of this." Respect shown in his eyes for his second namesake, though the admiration was still gone. "I don't understand… Don't the Death Eater's _know _you have access to the Headmaster's Office here? Aren't they suspicious of you because of your past, especially when you are absent from your portrait at Nurmengard?"

"I have third portrait," Snape replied. "The third resides on the walls of the Malfoy Manor, which is infested with Death Eaters. It is the leaders' living quarters. The Death Eaters believe it is my only other portrait."

"Haven't they checked here?" James asked, venom in his voice. "They aren't stupid."

"Obviously," Snape sneered. "Your tutor, Hawk, removed my portrait before they searched the castle years ago and returned it when they left."

"You know Hawk?" Lily finally managed to gasp out. It was then that Snape finally turned his gaze to her, the pain in his eyes evident. "Yes, Lily Potter." The name seemed to be like poison to him. He seemed to actually recoil as he said her name. "He has acted as my body since my death, following my orders since the new reign started. Hawk attempted, but failed, to prepare you and your family for this in the case that it ever happened. I'm assuming he was also a traitor, because how else would the Death Eaters know that Hogwarts was your family's safe house? It doesn't make sense that he wouldn't tell them I had a portrait here, though, if he was a traitor…"

"Wait…" Albus said, apparently shoving anything thoughts of Hawk being a traitor away. He was dead, anyway. What trouble would he cause them now? "Why have they not removed your portraits? Aren't _you_ considered to be a traitor?"

"Have you ever heard of Dark Magic?" Snape snapped. "I was stuck to the walls using _Dark Magic. _It is irreversible. The portrait here is removable, in the case that the Death Eaters decide to search the castle again."

Suddenly, Lily gasped, feeling as if a trillion bricks fell on top of her. She completely forgot about the skepticism she felt toward the three way portraits - Merlin knew that her brothers had enough suspicion for a thousand fully trained aurors - as a bit of Snape's previous words came back to her. "Living quarters? _Malfoy Manor?_"

Snape smiled, a true, genuine smile. It even reach his eyes. "Clever, like your grandmother."

Lily ignored him. "The leaders' living quarters… You mean Jester Shroudrouge lives in the Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes, Lily," Snape said. Lily vaguely noted that she was the only Potter child that the dark haired Potions Master was addressing by first name at this point in time. "The Masked Murderer resides in the Malfoy Manor, with his son, as well as his most loyal followers." He paused. "It is lucky that you have a former resident of the Malfoy Manor with you, is it not? Scorpius Malfoy can lead you straight there."

"Now Severus," Dumbledore said warningly, though Lily had a feeling that he probably _hoped _they would go after Shroudrouge. "Do not give the children any ideas."

"Why hasn't Draco Malfoy thought to check his old house for any trace of Death Eaters?" Albus asked, seeming to think he found a question that Snape could not answer.

"Draco Malfoy was weak," Snape snarled suddenly. The _was _Snape used flew right over the children's heads. "He refused to acknowledge the old manor, as does his son, I am assuming. Astoria Malfoy was taken from there and brutally murdered only hours later, after all. The most Draco spoke about is that it is in shambles and it would be a waste of time to go and see if there is any sign of Death Eaters."

"So, he's lying to my parents?" James inquired.

"No," Snape said. "He was protecting himself and his son from any overwhelming sadness they might feel when they found that the manor was indeed intact. His lie has done nothing aside from drag the Death War out longer than it should be. Of course, he did not know that the Shroudrouges rule from the Malfoy Manor… or what would be considered the Shroudrouge Manor. But now, finally, you have shown up as I knew you would when your family was attacked - Potter made this his safe house - and you finally have the information."

"What do we do with it?" Albus asked desperately, turning to Dumbledore, apparently tired of hearing Snape's droning, emotionless voice. "My parents are gone and the Ministry… the Ministry…"

"The Ministry is being infiltrated by Death Eaters," Dumbledore revealed quietly. "It is no longer trustworthy. Kingsley Shacklebolt's murder is being plotted as we speak, according to Severus."

"Your parents are not gone," Snape said, touching on Albus's previous comment. "Your parents are being held captive."

"Are they safe?" James demanded.

"Unfortunately, James Potter, your parents will never be _safe _in Nurmengard," Snape said venomously. "But as of right now, they are not being punished in any way."

"But what do we _do?_" Albus asked again, panic seeping into his voice.

"Do what you feel is right," Dumbledore responded, his voice completely serious. "You are in charge now."

"Potter," Snape said softly, addressing Albus. "It would not be wise to linger here. When I told you that you had walked into a trap, I was not joking. I trust your father has given you alternative safe houses?"

"I'm assuming. Scorpius and I haven't had the chance to check the envelope that contains information needed in an emergency situation," Albus responded, seeming to have taken inspiration at Dumbledore's instructions. "How long do we have here, Professor Snape?" he asked.

"You have forty-eight hours until the Death Eaters plan to strike," Snape informed him seriously. "They will not search the castle, they will wait until you leave, whether it is to find food or to simply take a walk."

"Why won't they search the castle?" James asked, still suspicious.

"You can not apparate inside of these corridors," Snape responded, acting as if James could not have asked a stupider question. "Which you and your group of friends need to keep in mind. You can not apparate inside of Hogwarts - therefore, you have to leave the gates to apparate. In forty-eight hours, Death Eaters will be stationed everywhere, all the way out to Hogsmeade Village. You must leave soon," he said, turning back to Albus. "Do not wait until the forty-eight hours is up. Leave in the morning, so if anything goes wrong, you will have time to spare."

Lily finally took a deep breath and asked what she assumed would be the most obvious question. "Why did they take my parents? Why are they after us?"

Snape and Dumbledore turned to her, their eyes sad. It was Snape who spoke. "With Harry Potter gone, the people will lose hope and surrender to the Shroudrouges. Harry Potter got rid of the Dark Lord, and the people hope that soon Harry Potter will finish off Jester Shroudrouge." Snape took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to Albus, seeming to regret what he was about to say to her brother. "I _will _find a way to inform you if your parents are killed. If they are, you must make yourself known to the public."

Albus swallowed. "Why?"

"Because you and your siblings have the Potter name. It will be comforting to the wizarding people. It will give them one last shred of hope, a shred that will keep them going. Only _if _your parents are killed should the public know of your whereabouts. Until then, do your investigating and plotting in private. Only trust those who your parents have instructed you to in the envelope you spoke of earlier."

"_What _investigating and plotting?" James asked impatiently.

"Your about as dimwitted as your grandfather-" Snape started angrily. Dumbledore placed a hand on his colleague's shoulder, widening his eyes. Snape clenched his teeth before saying. "If it is not obvious, you must break into Nurmengard to rescue your parents and inform them of Shroudrouge's whereabouts."

"Why don't we just go straight to the Ministry?" James demanded.

"Because," Snape said tightly, "it is being infiltrated by Death Eaters. Word would get out that you were searching for your parents and they would be slaughtered on the spot. Plus, if the Death Eaters saw you strutting around the Ministry like the arrogant, senseless-" He broke off under Dumbledore's stern gaze. "If you were seen in the Ministry without your parents, it would become obvious that you were up to something. The Ministry is in shambles as it is - there is a mere handful of people that are trustworthy at the Ministry - if they were to plot a search and rescue mission, their luck would be slim. There are more Death Eaters there than there are aurors. The Unforgivables are rising in popularity once more. The Imperius Curse would take care of anybody who questioned their motives as they murdered you, those who fought the Imperius would be met with the Cruciatus Curse, and those who were still kicking would meet the Killing Curse. This is why you must avoid Death Eaters at all costs. Granted, there will be some circumstances where it is unavoidable."

The children gaped at Snape, astonished. Lily finally understood why Harry never told her about the Death War and it's consequences. It was _terrifying. _

The Potter children exchanged glances, silently agreeing to follow Snape's instructions. This was for their parents, for the sake of the wizarding world… It was up to them.

"You must inform your family now," Dumbledore told Albus. "Tell them everything we have told you. There is one more thing that Severus must inform you about, something that I hope you, Albus, will tell Scorpius Malfoy in privacy."

Protectiveness flashed in Albus's his eyes for his best friend. "What would that be?"

"Draco Malfoy is not with the Potters and Weasleys at Nurmengard," Snape said solemnly. "When the Death Eaters attacked, he was lagging behind your parents and aunt and uncle, who were instantly restrained. He fired curses at the Death Eaters, proved to be too much of a threat, and was killed without hesitation."

"Oh, no," Lily whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. Draco Malfoy had been dead for days and Scorpius did not even know… Two entire weeks. "Oh, no… Oh, _no…_" James put a comforting arm around Lily's shoulder.

Albus nodded, masking any pain he felt for his best friend. "I will tell him."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said sadly. "Now you must go."

"Albus," Snape finally said, looking at Lily's brother without any trace of resentment. "You will not fail, I am sure of it. Even as a Slytherin, you will not fail." He smiled slightly at Albus, who nodded emotionlessly. "Oh, and Albus," Snape continued. "If you find yourself in the Malfoy Manor or Nurmengard on your journey, I hope that you will find one of my portraits to assure me that you are still alive."

"Yes, sir," Albus responded. "I will."

A few more words were exchanged between the portraits and the children, and finally, the Potters made their way to the door. Albus turned before leaving, and said to his namesakes, "Thank you."

Dumbledore smiled. "No need to thank us, Albus. We are only portraits, after all."

**A/N:**

**Sweet fuck, you guys are impatient. Haha. Let me just address a few things that went on over my what was apparently a hideously long and agonizing hiatus to you guys… I am NOT abandoning this story. A very angry anon left reviews confusing everyone about whether this story was abandoned or not - no hard feelings, anon! If I abandon a story, I WILL TELL YOU. Via twitter, via most recent chapter, via reviews of this story. I have not plans on abandoning this story, and I hope to be updating more frequently over the next few months. I am on summer break until August. Ooooh, another indication to Anonymous's age. Right, I'm either a Junior or Senior in high school - which you could have guessed, because last year I said something similar to it when I was writing My Devotion over the summer. I'll leave it up to you to guess which one it is, lol. Whatever.**

**Okay. So much happened in this chapter. Things will really start to get going now. Maybe we get to witness a Scorpius breakdown? I don't know! (; Predictions, thoughts, comments, etc? Let me know in the reviews!**

**I love you all dearly and I am so flattered you guys got so angry over thinking I had abandoned the story, WHICH I HAVE NOT. (:**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**TRIGGER WARNING. ****Don't know how much of a trigger warning, but self harm is the basis around this chapter.**

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Nineteen:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Despite the cold air, Lily felt warm. Despite _everything, _Lily felt warm. So warm. Twinkling stars shown above her, and though it was early evening and the sun had just fully disappeared, they were like sparkling diamonds.

After the meeting with the headmasters, Lily had stumbled in the opposite direction of her brothers, who yelled - clumsily, if possible - for her to be in front of the Great Hall at dawn. They did not try to stop her from wandering off, knowing that she could not spend one more hour staring at the stone walls in the Great Hall while Albus told Scorpius of his father's death. Lily felt guilty that she could not face Scorpius and that Albus was being forced to not only face him, but reveal the news that would alter his life forever. She was selfish, Lily finally concluded. Selfish. Which is why she was _here - _the Astronomy Tower.

It was almost haunting knowing everything that had taken place on the tallest tower at Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore, the wizard she had talked to only hours before, was killed on the Astronomy Tower by Severus Snape who had just given Lily and her brothers information that would ultimately determine their fate. Draco Malfoy, who was murdered only days before, came to this tower expecting to kill Dumbledore himself…

Lily swallowed, sitting up from where she laid on the stone ground of the tower, suddenly horrified that she was stupid enough to think that she would find comfort in the stars where Albus Dumbledore - her brother's bloody _namesake _-was killed. Nauseated, Lily stood up and hurried toward the door that would take her back down to the dusty corridors of Hogwarts.

…

It was late in the evening at this point and everything was eerily quiet. Albus had to have told the others of their circumstances by now, and surely, Scorpius knew of his father. Lily was fairly certain that everyone was camping out in the Great Hall. Earlier in the day, after the sorting, Lily thought maybe they would try to break into their assigned dormitories just to see what it would feel like to spend time in the common rooms, but now Lily had a feeling that after the news was spilt, they would want to stay together.

Lily did not want to see anyone. She wanted to live forever with the feeling of knowing that her brothers and cousins were just in the next room, safe and alive. She wanted to _know _that if she went into the Great Hall, her family would be there without question. After tonight, Lily did not know the next time she would have that feeling.

Scorpius kept popping up in her mind, the thought of how devastated he must be continuously slamming into Lily. She wondered where he was and prayed to Merlin that he was okay. Of course, she _knew _he was not okay… But one could hope. She wanted to go to him, but part of her knew that she had to give him time, give him as much time as he needed-

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. Just down the corridor, a door was cracked. The sound of running water made her assume that it was a bathroom. Running water was not the only sound emitting itself from the bathroom, though. Panicked, ragged breathing nearly drown out the sound of the water. Lily knew who it was instantly, and quickly turned around, trying to be respectful of Scorpius during his time of weakness. But then a sound that sent her heart racing faster than it already was… A sound of pain, almost sounding like a growl, made Lily turn back around and hurry to the door so she could peer through the crack.

It took Lily everything not to gasp. Scorpius stood with his back to her, his black coat and white dress shirt laying on the ground, stripped from his body. Lily took a moment to admire the hardly exposed skin. It was so smooth and soft, so perfect…

He was in front of a sink, looking down at the water pouring from the spout. Scorpius gripped the sides of the counter hard, so hard that Lily could see the lean muscles in his back working. He seemed to be trying to rip the counter completely off the wall. Suddenly, his hand flashed out and grabbed a small, velvet bag from where it laid on the counter… right next to a bloody razorblade. It was at this point that Lily noticed there was blood dripping down Scorpius's arm and onto the floor.

Lily watched speechlessly as Scorpius dumped more razorblades out of the little bag, picked up a clean one, and held out his arm. Slowly, Scorpius slid the razor across his skin, hissing at the pain it surely brought. One cut, two cuts, three cuts… Scorpius continued to become more frantic, more out of control. In seconds, he was slashing wildly at his arms, his stomach, his chest… Lily could not stand to watch him mutilate himself any longer.

"Stop it!" she screamed, staggering into the bathroom. "Scorpius, stop it!"

He spun around, and Lily choked on a sob. Old and new scars covered Scorpius's chest and stomach, as well as the cuts that he had just slashed into his body. "Lily," he breathed, his eyes flashing wildly.

She watched him, wide-eyed, as blood dripped from all of the new cuts on his body. It was such a stark contrast, deep red on white. It reminded of her of when she found Hawk dead… Blood with milk. Lily began to shake as she stumbled closer to Scorpius, who cringed away from her. "Don't touch me," he said tightly. "You have to leave. You have to _go. _I don't want you to see me like this, Lily. You shouldn't have to see me like this!" His voice rose to a shout in the short amount of time he was talking.

"You shouldn't _be _like this!" Lily yelled over him. "Please, Scorpius, please don't!" Lily was so close to him, so close she could touch him, but she felt like he was a thousand miles away. This was a different Scorpius from the one she knew. The one she knew was far, far away. The Scorpius that she knew needed her to rescue him, bring him back to where she was.

Scorpius began to laugh manically. "_Please don't_?" he mimicked her voice in a high pitched whine. "Are you joking? Who are you to assume that I _shouldn't _be like this? The hell I should be!" he shouted. "You don't know me, Lily! I am horrible! I am worse than the Death Eaters! I watched them kill my mother and disapparate! Do you know why they didn't kill me? Do you know whythey spared me? You have to know that it was not out of the goodness of their_ damned hearts!_" He was standing directly in front of her now, so close that the baggy green t-shirt Lily was wearing brushed against his bleeding torso. He towered over her, holding his body as if he was challenging her. "Well? Do you know?"

Lily shook her head mutely.

"Because my father never wanted any children," Scorpius said softly. "But my mother insisted. He did it for her. When they were torturing her, she begged them not to kill us, to kill her, because she was the only one who could properly take care of me, properly _want _me. I remember her voice… I remember how she pleaded… It was stupid on her part, because she had to know that deep down they would not see mercy. Finally, they decided that the ultimate way to ruin my father's life was not to kill both of us, only to kill my mother. It ruined my mother's afterlife to know that I was left with only one guardian - my father, who did not even want me, therefore ruining his life. It probably does not help that I am morbidly fucked up and awful, always causing him trouble, humiliating him…"

Lily swallowed. "Scorpius… that does not make you worse than the Death Eaters-"

Suddenly, Scorpius grabbed Lily's upper arms and shoved her against the wall next to the sink. Lily's back slammed painfully against it, her head missing it by a centimeter. "I let them kill her," he snarled. "I let them _murder _her. I know what you're thinking, do not think I'm stupid. You're thinking that I was only four. How could I have done anything? I could have at least _fought._"

Lily wanted to touch him, but she could not bring herself to do it. His body was in such a tender state. There seemed to be a thin layer of blood all over his arms and stomach, so much she could not see where each cut was. "Scorpius," Lily whispered, praying she could calm him down enough to clean and bandage his cuts. "You were only four years old-"

"_I KNOW THAT!_" he shouted murderously, unconsciously shoving his body against her. Lily cowered under his gaze, truly frightened. Scorpius was not completely right in the head, that was not a secret. If Albus knew what was going on in the bathroom she and Scorpius were standing in, he surely would have been immenselyconcerned for Lily's physical safety. But, deep down, Lily knew Scorpius would not hurt her or lay a hand on her without her permission. Lily knew that he was strong enough to stop himself for that.

"Then you should know you could have done nothing-"

"Damn it, don't say that!" he yelled, gripping her wrists, his blood smearing against her skin, his hot breath on her neck and face. "I could have done something! Maybe if I had held them off long enough, our fathers could have rescued her! Maybe if she had lived, I would not have spent my entire seventeen years stuck in a manor with you fucking people, trying to make it up to my father! Maybe I would be happy! Maybe my father would have learned to love me! _Maybe he would still be alive!_" As Scorpius yelled, his grip on her wrists tightened to the point where it hurt. He nails dug into her skin so deep that surely he was drawing blood.

"Scorpius… Stop. You're hurting me," Lily whispered.

It was like the flip of a switch. He let go of her instantly, any trace of insanity vanishing from his eyes. Lily saw the tension vanish from his body as he backed away from her. Scorpius's arms went limp, but not as if he were relieved. He looked defeated, a horrified expression worn on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink and saw how much blood covered his body. By now, he had smeared it in his face and hair. "Merlin," he muttered. "Sweet fucking Merlin… I…"

"Scorpius…" Lily said his name for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Do not look at me," he said, his hands beginning to shake. Scorpius gripped the counter again, trying to calm himself, and finally, Lily stepped forward. She ignored him when he flinched as she took his wrist. Despite his reluctance, he did not put up a fight when she forced him to sit down on the floor, his back against the wall.

Scorpius was bleeding a lot and Lily knew that she had to bandage the cuts. Since they were in a bathroom, she assumed there had to be bandages around somewhere. After a few minutes of rummaging through drawers and cabinets, she found gauze and tape. After wetting a rag with warm water, Lily sat in between Scorpius's spread out legs on her knees.

His hands still shook as she washed and bandaged the cuts on his arms one by one. He watched her, gauging her expression as Lily saw his scars fully for the first time. There were years of old scars covering the what would be the flawlessly white skin of his arm, from his shoulder to his wrist. Every once in awhile, Lily would come across a particularly tender spot of skin and he would hiss, his entire body tensing up. "Sorry, sorry," Lily would say quietly, before continuing. "I really wish I knew a healing spell."

Finally, Lily had to clean Scorpius's chest and stomach. It took a lot longer than his arms did, because the cuts were a lot deeper. She was extra careful to stay away from the middle of his waistline, since the mere thought of her hands going anywhere near the zipper of his pants made her heart stutter unevenly. Luckily, there were no cuts _there. _

Just as Lily bandaged the last cut and ran her hands over the others to assure that there was enough tape on each bandage, Scorpius caught her hand in his. "Lily," was all he said. His hands were still shaking, and Lily vaguely wondered if it was because of blood loss. "Lily…"

Lily met his eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Your hands…"

He glanced at them and chuckled emotionlessly. "There's nothing I can do about it."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You mean, your hands always shake like this?" Lily tried to remember seeing his hands shake before, but she could not picture it.

"No," he answered, tracing a shaky star in the palm of her hand with his index finger. "I… ah… Usually I have an outlet." Scorpius swallowed, a half-smile tugging at his lips. "I'm having what could probably be considered withdrawals from my piano. I always play when I start to feel my… problem coming on. Sometimes I can stop myself, though I think even with the piano I would not have been able to do it this time."

Suddenly, a meow came from the doorway. Leo trotted in, his tail swishing in the air. He meowed again, began back toward the door, and when Scorpius and Lily did not immediately get up and follow him, he meowed once more. Lily sighed and said, "I think he wants us to follow him."

…

Scorpius put his white dress shirt back on and offered Lily his jacket, for she was shivering. Lily knew she was not shivering because of the cold, but because of what had just happened. She was not scared of Scorpius, but she was scared of what he could become. Still, she knew he would not hurt her, but now she knew that he would hurt himself without hesitating. Lily took his jacket though, grateful to have a piece of him wrapped around her.

They followed Leo up several staircases, all the way up to the seventh floor of Hogwarts. The gray cat led them to a blank wall, paced in front of it three times, and to Lily and Scorpius's shock, a door appeared… a door that led to the Room of Requirement. Leo meowed, nudging the door with his nose. Slowly, Lily grasped the handle and pulled.

What she saw made her grin. A shiny black piano sat right in the middle of the room with a couch placed a few feet away from it. Candles lit the room, giving it a soft, comforting glow. It reminded Lily of the music room at the manor so much that she nearly cried.

Scorpius, without saying a word, took her by the hand and led her inside. He did not hesitate to take a seat the piano and pull her down with him. Normally, Lily would have sat beside him on the bench, but now she sat right in his lap. He did not seem to care. Actually, he did not even acknowledge the fact that he had pulled her onto his legs. It seemed to be normal for him. The only indication of any emotion he felt toward their physical position was the light pink stain to his cheeks.

Lily's legs dangled between his right leg and the bench of the piano, her feet barely grazing the wooden floor. She was careful not to lean too heavily on his chest, but as Scorpius began to play, Lily almost immediately felt her eyes drooping shut. Exhaustion seemed to take over, and she was asleep within seconds.

She was briefly awoken when Scorpius stopped playing and, to her extreme pleasure, carried her over to the couch. Lily expected Scorpius to set her down and go back over to the piano, but when he had placed her on the couch, he settled down beside her.

Carefully, Scorpius draped an arm across Lily's waist, sighing softly. It was a tight squeeze on the couch, considering it was narrow and long, but it was the most comfortable position Lily had ever been in. She rested her head against Scorpius's chest, her hand grasping a fistful of his shirt. Surprisingly, he was asleep within seconds. Lily stayed awake for a few more minutes, listening to his breathing and feeling his chest move up and down.

As sleep begin to take over again, a warmth Lily had never felt - not even while stargazing - took over. The warmth she felt at the beginning of the night was nothing compared to what it was now. She was safe and secure for a few more hours. Until morning, she would be safe with Scorpius, who seemed perfectly content to sleep with her in his arms.

**A/N:**

**It is late. I must sleep. Let me know how you liked this chapter. (;**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily pushed the doors to the Great Hall open the next morning, dreading what the coming day was going to bring. Leo trotted along beside her, attempting to rub his head against her still-healing ankle. She ignored him, not wanting his pity. Lily had woken up with Leo laying beside her, meowing apologetically. It had taken a few minutes for Lily to remember what had happened the night before, but when it all came back, she was hit with a crushing devastation when she realized that Scorpius was not longer beside her. There was no indication that he had been there at all, really, aside from his jacket that Lily had taken off and draped over her arm during her walk down to the Great Hall.

Everyone looked up when Lily entered, all except - surprise! - Scorpius. It appeared that Albus, James, Rose, Dominique, and Scorpius were all pouring over a bit of parchment laid out on the Gryffindor table, very serious expressions on all of their faces. Louis and Hugo were bickering with one another over who was hungrier. Lily rolled her eyes, joining the older children around the parchment, which appeared to be a rather extensive list of addresses. The parchment was titled, _Trustworthy _-_ Incase of an Emergency. _

Lily blinked away the tears when she saw that it was her father's handwriting.

"What is this?" Lily asked, expecting a sarcastic retort from Rose or Dominique. Surprisingly, the girls completely avoided her gaze. It was James who spoke.

"It is a list of people we can trust… Well, their addresses. We found it in the envelope dad left for us," he said. "None of these belong to our grandparents or other relatives. I am guessing dad does not want us to lead any danger to them," he mused.

"That, or he thinks that the Death Eaters will assume we would go to close family members," Albus said, an eyebrow raised as he read the addresses, any sign of his breakdown from the night before gone. "Smart," Albus said softly. "Very smart. He didn't leave us helpless. Good."

"He hasn't left us," James said quietly, and Albus was careful to avoid James's gaze.

"When are we going?" Lily asked, staring intently at her brothers to avoid looking at Scorpius.

"Now," Albus answered, straightening up and rolling up the parchment. "Scorpius, James, did you get that address?" They nodded. "Rose? Dominique?" The girls nodded as well. "Good," Albus said. "Then we should be fine to apparate in front of the gates without any problems. "Louis, Hugo, hurry up." Abruptly, Albus began walking toward the doors of the Great Hall. He did not even seem saddened to leave, in a hurry if anything. "Lily, stay near James," he said condescendingly.

Lily shot an incredulous look at James, who shrugged. Despite having been spoken down to like a tiny child, Lily followed Albus's orders without saying anything. Scorpius lagged behind the rest of the group, and if anybody had been paying attention to him aside from Lily, they would have thought he was taking up the rear incase a Death Eater were to jump out and attack the group from behind. Lily knew better. He was avoiding her, just as she was avoiding him. _I'm avoiding him because he's avoiding me, _Lily rationalized. _My avoiding is justified. _

"Alright," Albus said when they reached the front doors of the school. He turned to face everyone, who now clustered around them. "If we are to be attacked, it is important that at least a couple of us survive. Lily, I want you to stay by James at all costs, do you understand? Hugo, stay with Rose, and Louis, stay with Dominique." He took a deep breath as everyone nodded, their faces masks of complete seriousness. "If we are to be attacked, apparate without hesitation. Scorpius and I will stay behind and fight until each pair has disapparated."

"You don't expect me to leave my best friends, do you-" Rose began to protest, but Albus cut her off.

"I expect you to do what you always have done, Rose, look after yourself," Albus said coldly. Rose flinched. Lily widened her eyes, feeling a pang of sympathy for Rose. It was clear that she was genuinely concerned for Scorpius and Albus's wellbeing. "The only difference about it this time is that it will save a life - your brother's."

"Albus," Scorpius interjected, a tone in his voice that made everyone look up at him, even Leo. "If anything happens, let me hold them off. Go with your family and I'll meet you at the address." His eyes flickered to Lily, who quickly averted her gaze. What did the look he had just given her meant? Was he talking to her, but making it appear as if he was speaking to Albus?

Albus took in Scorpius's words, and nodded once. Lily had a feeling that Scorpius and Albus both knew that they would not leave each other in the midst of battle, but an argument on Albus's part would waste their time. Lily assumed that Scorpius telling Albus to leave him to fight was only to discretely say he had his back completely. Or to get a message across to Lily. Or both.

So, the group set out across the Hogwarts ground and to the gates. Halfway there, Lily scooped up Leo, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She could feel eyes watching her - them - as they trudged across the grounds. When she opened her mouth the tell Albus of her uneasiness, she was cut off by Dominique. "Do you have any clue who the first address belongs to?"

"No clue, I only know where," Albus said tensely, eyes straight ahead. Lily wished he would drop this "hard leader" façade. It made the tension even higher, made it seem like he was _expecting _to be attacked at the gates. "The address says Somerset," he said, "which is somewhere in South West England. Apparently, we are supposed to find ourselves in the village of Shepton Mallet."

At this point, the children were approaching the gate. Lily heart slammed painfully in her chest, and yet again, she tried to warn her brother. But at that moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Remember what the protocols are. Does everyone remember the address?"

There was a mumble of assurances, and finally, with one more look at his family, Albus pushed open the gates. Everyone stepped out of the gates and there was a moment of complete silence. Albus and Scorpius exchanged a glance - they knew something, Lily realized, but she had no time to ask what it was. At that very moments, blasts of light began shooting out of the surrounding forest.

On instinct, everyone withdrew their wands. Albus and Scorpius were fast, so fast that by the time Lily and the rest of the children had their wands out they were already blasting blindly into the forest. James's grip on Lily's arm was painful, but she was grateful that he had not followed Albus's orders to apparate immediately. Nobody else had either. Despite the attack, despite the fact that someone might come out brutally injured, there was a very obvious connection formed between the children at the moment, proven only when Rose screamed, "Lily, _get down!_" and shoved Lily to the ground. A green flash had nearly grazed her shoulder.

Careful not to hurt Leo, but trying to be quick, Lily was on her feet once again. She was so unsure of what to do, as were Hugo and Louis. They could not see the threat - the threat was in the forest, after all - so she had no clue what to scream or aim at. All of the older children seemed to know exactly what to do and when to do it. James had shoved Lily behind him as soon as she was back on her feet. Scorpius and Albus were standing back to back in the middle of the pathway in front of the gates, each having taken one side of the forest as their own. Rose and Dominique had taken up a similar stance, shooting in whichever direction Scorpius and Albus were not.

By chance, Lily glanced up in panic, only to see a few dozen Death Eaters preparing to shoot from branches in the trees. "_James!_" Lily shrieked, pointing upward. Then, Lily was screaming any hex or jinx she knew, desperate to get them down. It was in that moment that Lily fully realized what it was like to be in the midst of battle. You did not _think, _you _did._

They were outnumbered - terribly, terribly outnumbered - and it would be nearly impossible to escape without being hit. By now, Albus and Scorpius had caught on to the Death Eaters in the trees, but they were still occupied with having to shoot in front of them at the Death Eaters hidden in the forest. Louis and Hugo were not shooting spells upwards as well. It was even now, four of the children were shooting upwards, into the branches, and four of the children were shooting into the forest itself. Lily, James, Hugo, and Louis had an advantage - they could actually _see _who they were shooting at.

"I have to go in!" Scorpius finally yelled over the different colored lights, throwing up a shield charm as he did so. "We're not getting anywhere, shooting blindly into the damned forest! We're losing strength, wasting time!"

Apparently, Albus agreed, because he yelled to James, Dominique, and Rose, "Go! Get out of here! If we are all dead by the time this is over, mum and dad will never be able to finish this war!" James began to protest wildly, but Albus shut him up. "If we die, so will the rest of the wizarding world, James! Live up to our name - We're Potters, we protect people! They need us! _GO!_"

Finally, James decided that Albus was right. He took hold of Lily's arm once more, and they apparated on the spot, Lily screaming protests. The last thing she saw before she was spinning uncontrollably to their destination was Scorpius's grey eyes as he sent her one last look before he took his first step into the forest.

…

They appeared in front of a tiny cottage on top of grassy, ice-covered hill. It was shockingly quiet after what Lily had just experienced. Her protests broke off. It did not just seem right to be screaming in this environment. A light breeze tousled her hair and Leo's fur as they looked around. The village was below the hill the small cottage was on, but Lily knew that if the villagers looked up they would only see a hill and would find reason to never set foot on the hill. Magic would never fail to shock her, even having grown up around it her entire life.

Suddenly, the quietness was pierced by two loud cracks. Dominique and Louis appeared, followed closely by Rose and Hugo. They were breathing heavily, no doubt having experienced a narrow escape. "Albus and Scorpius went into the forest," Rose said, not needing Lily or James to ask for an update. "We left when Dominique got that cut," she added, nodding toward Dominique, who had a hand covering her face. "We probably could not have done much more there, anyway."

Lily gasped when Dominique moved her hand to show them the cut, completely forgetting all animosity she felt toward her cousin. "Are you okay?" Lily demanded, her voice filled with concern.

Dominique returned her gaze, nodding, still trying to catch her breath. "I'm fine," she responded, no coldness in her voice whatsoever. That was the first time in a long time that Lily and Dominique were able to speak to each other without throwing insults around. "A spell hit the trunk of a tree, which blew it to pieces. A shard of wood hit me." Blood was trickling down her cheek, to her neck, and onto her shirt. "I'm fine," she said again, "don't worry."

The door to the cottage burst open at that moment, making the children spin around, wands out. It was hard not to be overly-cautious after what had just happened, even though the resident of the cottage was apparent supposed to help them.

The first thing Lily noticed about the old woman standing in the doorway was that she had graying black hair, pulled severely back into a bun at the nape of her neck. The woman was wearing modest black robes that made her look quite scholarly. She wore square glasses that intensified the eyes that had a piercing gaze, a gaze that made Lily feel like she was doing something wrong. She felt James shift uneasily beside her.

Realization dawned on the woman's face in a matter of seconds. "Get inside," she barked from her spot near the door. "Before someone sees you. My wards go as far as protecting my home from muggle eyes, but if anybody magical managed to follow you, you'll have led them straight here." The children stared blankly at the woman. "Quickly!" she snapped.

Feeling as they were in trouble, the children hurried inside the tiny college, avoiding the woman's eyes as they walked past her. "The kitchen is to your left," she called as they continued down a narrow hallway with a door leading to a sitting room on the right and a door leading to the kitchen on the left. A rickety looking staircase was placed at the very end of the hallway.

They was a very loud slam of the front door, with a prominent clicks of three locks, and a mumbled spell that was surely meant to secure the locks even further. As the children awkwardly took spots leaning against the counter, Lily examined the kitchen, setting Leo down as she did so. The kitchen was small and so clean it seemed sterile, but it was quite homey. Worn wood that covered the floors was presently being scrubbed by a self-working sponge and bucket. An old, seemingly working stove held a tea kettle. There were three teacups sitting on the island in the middle of the room. Two more people must live with the old woman, Lily noted.

Finally, the woman joined them in the kitchen and stared around at all of them. "My nephew Hunter will be down with some dittany for that cut in a few minutes," she said in Dominique's direction. "I need introductions," she said abruptly. "I know what your parents look like, but I can not guess who each of you are based solely off of what they look like. It is truly astonishing how they seem to produce exact replicas of themselves… Are we missing two? There are supposed to be two more boys, am I correct?"

It was then that the full fledged panic of Scorpius and Albus being alone in the forest engulfed Lily. They chances of Lily ever seeing them again were slim. Hell, the chances of Lily coming out of this entire mess alive were slim. Her breathing began to elevate, here entire body began to shake. Albus… Scorpius… If they died, Lily surely would too. Albus, who was her brother, always looked out for her. Even though he could be mean and condescending, she loved him so much. And Scorpius… What was he to her? The mere thought of him being killed before she knew what their relationship was devastated Lily. It was so unfair, so incredibly unfair. Then another horrible thought entered Lily's mind. She had not spoken to Scorpius that morning. She had avoided him because he was avoiding her. It was horrible and petty and she could not have felt worse-

A single crack echoed through the air outside, making everyone jump and hurry to the single window in the kitchen that overlooked the front lawn. Lily nearly screamed.

**A/N:**

**Suspense! Haha. Okay, I know this chapter was pretty slow. But think of it as the calm before the storm. That's a saying, right? The calm before the storm? Whatever, let's just say it is. Because there **_**will **_**be a storm in the next chapter. One that will probably sincerely piss you off, but give you butterflies all at the same time. It will be in the next chapter, I swear! (: **

**Right, you can probably very easily guess who the owner of the cottage is. Also, you can probably guess who the two other people living in the house are, considering Hunter's name was already given and also, if you've read My Devotion, you will know. **

**Predictions? Let me know!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Someone take his other side," Albus said sharply when he met them at the front door, Scorpius leaning heavily on him, his eyes closed and his body limp. "Get me a clear space. A table, something, anything…" James quickly placed Scorpius's arm around his shoulders and helped Albus drag him down the narrow hallway.

When they were halfway down the hall, a lanky boy with overgrown dark brown hair began making his way down the staircase. This must have been Hunter. He took one look at Scorpius, no doubt having heard Albus's orders to nobody particular only moments prior. The boy hurried into the kitchen, and once the group had reached the door to the kitchen, they could see that he was clearing off the island. It was only a matter of seconds before Scorpius was laying face down on the center island, his bloodied, mutilated back exposed.

While all of this was happening, Lily had been watching with a blank sort of horror on her face. She was being jostled between the children, allowing them to elbow her out of the way as they attempted to get an unconscious Scorpius to somewhere where they could examine him. At a first glance, it looked like Scorpius had a severely deep cut somewhere on his back, which was producing all of the blood. But once Lily looked closer she saw that he had several shards of glass protruding from his flesh, some of them larger, some of them smaller. It had looked like an entire glass window had exploded on him.

"What happened?" the woman who owned the house demanded, her piercing gaze on Albus as he tore through Rose's bag, looking for something. Lily did not understand what he was looking for, since it seemed that Scorpius's injury could be fixed with a few spells. She was in no way _not _worried about him, because as Albus frantically searched for whatever he was looking for, she began to feel that this was not just any ordinary injury.

Her worst fears were confirmed when Albus responded. "They conjured this glass - don't ask me from where - and it had to have been doused with poison, because I knowScorpius and I know a few cuts wouldn't make him scream like that." Scream? Lily could feel her body going completely numb, a reaction she found she was having more often than ever. It took a few moments for Lily to realize the hidden meaning behind Albus's words. _I know Scorpius and I know a few cuts wouldn't make him scream like that. _Even a thousand cuts wouldn't send Scorpius screaming, telling by the hundreds of scars Lily saw the night before. Apparently, Albus knew that too. "I had to knock him out to apparate," he said quickly. "We only have a few minutes…"

"Albus, what are you looking for?" Rose asked. Albus continued to dig around in the bag, his desperation seeming to trump everything. "The dittany is in the thirty-sixth pocket-"

"He's allergic to dittany," Albus said gruffly. "It makes him throw up."

Then, the conversation Lily had overheard Albus and Scorpius have the day the produced patronuses in lessons came back to her. She could not believe she had forgotten about it so easily.

_"That night you brought that razor a little too close to-"_

_"Shut. Up. You promised you'd never bring that up-"_

_"I promised I wouldn't as long as you promised not to do it again."_

Of course Albus would know Scorpius was allergic to dittany. Telling by that conversation, Albus and Scorpius had been in a very serious predicament at one point. Surely, Albus would have tried everything to close the cut Scorpius had inflicted on himself. Rose's voice cut into Lily's frantic thoughts. "Albus what are you _looking _for-"

"_A body numbing potion, damn it!_" Albus shouted ravenously at Rose, nearly dropping the bag in the process.

There was a moment of very tense silence, broken suddenly by Scorpius. He had woken up, and when his body tensed up when he realized he was awake, so did the flesh and muscles around the glass. He groaned in agony, his body tensing further. Dominique and Rose quickly went to hold him down, because it became apparent that Scorpius's was notgoing to stop moving. The boy - Hunter - helped in holding him down. The restraining didn't seem to do any good, because Scorpius's body only tensed up more. His groans became yells, and soon, a deafening string of swear words left his mouth.

"Hunter," the woman said urgently, "go upstairs and bring down the box of potions."

After that point, everyone's words were blurring together. Lily could not hear who was talking, it all blended in with Scorpius's shouts of pain. She was watching everything out of a tunnel, it seemed, and as the agonizingly long seconds past, Lily went so numb she could hardly feel her fingers. Hunter returned with the box. He and the woman hurried to find something - anything - to help Scorpius.

"Can't we just summon the glass out?" Rose demanded, roughing shoving Hugo out of the way. He had been peering anxiously at Scorpius's back, half interested, half repulsed.

"No," the woman said as she dug through the box. "We do not know how deep the glass goes. If we summon it out, we could be tearing out bits of flesh and other things that is essential to his survival. We'll have to take it out by hand."

Scorpius came around enough to take in his surroundings. His eyes landed on Lily within milliseconds, and that started a whole other fit of its own. "Get her out," he snarled, the muscles in his back working very obviously. Veins had risen in his neck and his one was pulsing wildly in his forehead. "Get her out!" he shouted. This time it fully hit Lily that he was trying to kick her out of the kitchen.

"Scorpius-" she began frantically.

"SHE - CAN'T - SEE - ME - LIKE - THIS!" The pain seemed to be too much at this point, for her broke off in a choked sort of half sob, half yell.

"The poison is spreading through his body," Hunter said, during which Lily vaguely noticed he had ocean blue eyes. Apparently, Dominique had too, for she could not take her eyes off of him. Hunter continued talking, oblivious to the fact that Dominique was blatantly checking him out in the midst of crisis. "We have to put him to sleep. We need to get the glass out and give him something that will fight off the poison-"

"_DAMN IT, LILY, GET OUT!_" Scorpius shouted, cutting off Hunter.

Albus tore around from his side of the island, grabbed Lily around the waist, and literally carried her out of the kitchen, across the hall, and set her down on the couch in the sitting area. He was breathing very raggedly, his entire body shaking. "Listen," he said, his green eyes flashing wildly. "Do _not _go back in there, do you understand me? I will tell you when you can come back. You being in there will not do him any good. We have to get the glass out and get it out quick so we can close the wounds and get the poison-"

"Albus," Dominique's voice cut in, "I'll take care of it."

Lily looked at the entrance of sitting area through the tears that were continuing to travel down her cheeks. She could very clearly see straight into the kitchen across the hallway, where Scorpius still laid on the table. He was in so much agony that his yells could have shaken the cottage. Lily choked on a sob.

"Are you sure?" Albus asked Dominique, raising an eyebrow.

Dominique closed the door halfway, hiding Lily's view of Scorpius. "Go," Dominique ordered. "He's asking for you." As if on cue, Albus's name rang out. Albus was out of the sitting room and back in the kitchen in a flash, the kitchen door slamming behind him.

It only took Lily a few seconds to leap off the couch and attempt to shove Dominique aside. Dominique was too fast for her. She grabbed Lily by the top of the arms and shoved her against the door, slamming it back into the jamb with the impact. "Lily, you have to listen to me," Dominique said, her big blue eyes wide. Lily could not tell what Dominique was going to say now. Was she going to criticize her for being so immature and reacting so horribly for the situation? Was she going to get her back for punching Rose the day before? Dominique shook her roughly. "Lily, _listen! _He needs you to stay calm, okay? Scorpius needs you to stay calm. I am almost one hundred percent certain that the only reason he told you to leave was because he did not want to scare you. Honestly, Lily, he probably wants you in there."

"Why are you telling me this? You hate me," Lily whispered, staring at the cut that was still on Dominique's cheek. It was no longer bleeding, but it did look quite gruesome. If it had been only a week ago, Lily would have been happy that Dominique was going to end up with a horrible scar. Now, Lily just felt guilty for ever hating her cousin so much.

Dominique seemed to ignore what Lily just said. "Did you even hear me? He probably wants" - both of the girls flinched when they heard Scorpius's shouts through the walls - "you in there."

"Albus told me to stay out," Lily said, finally finding her voice. "I have to listen to Albus."

"Albus is an arrogant, cocky mother fucker who thinks he owns the world," Dominique said blatantly. "Forget about Albus right now. I will go in and calm Scorpius down enough to tell him that you are okay to be in there." She paused. "_Are _you okay to be in there?"

Lily hesitated. "Yes."

"You're not going to freeze up and stare at him like he is traumatizing you for life?" Dominique asked.

"No," Lily said finally. "I will be okay."

Dominique seemed to appraise her before sighing and nodding. She stepped around Lily and began to turn the doorknob. "Remember, Lily," Dominique said. "When I say he probably wants you in there, I mean he probably onlywants you in there. As in, if there was anyone he'd rather have in there with him, it would be you."

"Wait," Lily said quickly as Dominique began to step out of the door. Dominique turned to face her once more. "Dominique… Why are you doing this?"

A rueful smile spread across Dominique's blood covered face, and she said, "I loved him once, too."

…

It seemed like an eternity before Dominique came back. During that eternity, Lily had her ear pressed against the door. At first there was a lot of yelled protests from Scorpius, later by Albus, and soon by the woman of the house herself. Finally, though, Dominique seemed to get through to Scorpius. Lily did not know how she did it, but she would be forever grateful for Dominique's help.

Once she stepped back through the door, she rested a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Remember," she said, "don't freeze up." With that, she led Lily back across the hallway and into the kitchen. It took everything in Lily's power not to start crying again.

"He's refusing to let them put him under," Dominique said under her breath. Scorpius's fists were clenched so tightly together she was surprised his bones didn't shatter. His jaw was taut and he attempted not to make any noise. Scorpius's blond hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat and the vein was still pulsing forcefully. The others, meaning Hunter, the woman, and Albus were all attempting to pull glass out of Scorpius's back with tweezers, while Rose, James, Louis, and Hugo held him down. There was one more person in the room from before. A girl with dark brown hair stood next to Albus, holding a basin where they were discarding the bloody pieces of glass. This must have been Hunter's sister.

"Lily," Scorpius said through his teeth. "Damn it, Lily…"

"We can get her to leave if you need us to, mate," Albus said gently. Lily shot him a look of pure rage.

"No," Scorpius said, inhaling raggedly. "No. Lily, come here."

Dominique assisted Lily in pulling a wooden chair at the head of the table, where Scorpius's head was. Lily quickly sat down in front of him and scooted forward so her knees were knocking against the island. It seemed to take a lot of effort, but Scorpius rested his chin on the surface of the island so he could face her completely.

"Look at me in all my glory," he managed to get out, his breathing more labored than before. He _did _seem a little more relaxed, luckily.

Lily forced a smile. "Oh, yes," she said softly, so softly that nobody would have heard her if things had not been completely silent besides Scorpius's breathing. "Yes," she continued quietly, "very glorious."

"Do I look like a warrior?" he asked, the normal Scorpius Malfoy bravado barely distinguishable.

"Yes," Lily answered immediately, not realizing she had leaned forward so she could be closer to him. "You look like a warrior. A very brave warrior."

"We'll have to tell the people that I was attacked by a dragon. Not shards of glass."

Lily laughed quietly, though she was not quite sure whether she was laughing because she was relieved Scorpius could still act somewhat like himself or if it was because she was trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong for him, when something was very obviously wrong.

Suddenly, Scorpius's body tensed up again. His eyes clamped shut and his fists clenched even tighter. He groaned loudly, biting down on his lip, undoubtedly drawing blood. Lily did not know what to do. Her heart slammed painfully against her chest, and as if on instinct, she placed her hand on top of Scorpius's fist. His hand became on clenched, only to clench around her hand. "How much longer until this is over?" Lily demanded, unable to see Scorpius in so much pain.

"Almost all the glass is out," Hunter informed her. "Christabel," he said to the girl with the brown hair. "Set down the basil - carefully, please - and have the bezoar ready." His sister, Christabel, followed his orders exactly.

"It's almost over," Lily said softly to Scorpius, who was still trying to hold himself together.

At that moment, Scorpius's breathing seemed to become more labored than ever. "Don't do that, Scorpius," Albus said, his voice suddenly full of desperation. "There's only a few more minutes and the bezoar will cancel out the poison." As Albus finished speaking, Scorpius's breathing hitched, started up again, and hitched once more. "Damn it," Albus snarled. "Can we just summon the rest of the glass out, _please-_"

"We're almost done," Hunter said tensely. "It is not worth risking."

Lily was watching Scorpius suffer with a horrified expression on her face. "Talk to him," Dominique instructed softly from where she stood at Scorpius's right. "Don't let him think you're afraid for him."

"Scorpius," Lily said, "you better toughen up here." Her voice was shaking, her throat closing up, as Scorpius became more and more delirious. "You have been through a lot worse than this," she said firmly, and nearly choked when his eyes slid shut. "_Scorpius! _Don't you do this! You have to stay alive, Scorpius! You better stay alive! Think of Leo! You helped name him! He's half yours, you said so yourself!" Her body was shaking with sobs by now. "Please, Scorpius, please don't…"

"That was the last of it," Hunter said suddenly. "Bezoar, please."

Lily's wasn't watching. She had leaned closer to Scorpius and buried her head in his shoulder. "Please, don't," she begged him. "Please, Scorpius, stay alive… Stay alive, please… You've lived through too much to just die like this…"

"Dominique," Lily heard Rose say quietly. "It is probably best that you take her away now…"

"Right," Dominique responded. "Lily, come with me, okay? He's still alive. We just need to give his body time to recover itself. He'll be okay." As Lily let Dominique lead her away, she knew that they were lying to her. Scorpius _was _still alive, but it was only a matter of time more than likely. They did not know if he was going to live or die. The poison could have spread to his heart or his brain or anything other organs that were essential for survival.

Dominique led Lily back to the sitting room, but it was only a matter of seconds before she left Lily alone to join the others back in the kitchen. Lily curled up into a ball. She did not know how long she laid on the couch like that, she just knew that it had to be awhile. Finally, she could hear hushed voices in the hallway. It was James and Albus.

Albus was saying, "He's going to live. I'm positive."

"Are you just saying that because you're hopeful?" James asked, not unkindly.

"No, his breathing is back to normal. He's just unconscious now." Albus sounded immensely relieved. It took more than a thousand trustworthy aurors to convince Albus of anything, it seemed, so it was extremely good news that Albus was confident in Scorpius's survival. "Damn, that was so scary…"

"What happened out there, Al?" James asked concernedly. Lily opened her eyes so she could see them standing in the hallway, between the kitchen door and the sitting room door.

Albus rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I was being stupid," he said. "Careless. I had not paid attention to which way he had gone, and I had turned to make sure he was still behind me. I turned to my right, but he was behind me to my left. That gave the Death Eaters a clear shot at me. Scorpius covered me from the back, taking the brunt of it. Or all of it, I should say. I don't have a scratch."

James swore. "I can't believe the both of you got out of that alive."

"He nearly didn't," Albus reminded him.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" a new voice asked. Rose. Lily could not see her, she was hidden by the wall, but she could hear her as clear as day.

"Until he's healed," Albus responded. "I'm not going to leave him here. I'm fairly certain Lily won't either."

The three laughed softly, probably more because they were relieved, not because they thought Albus's remark was funny. "Where's Dominique?" Albus asked Rose.

"Hunter is fixing up that cut on her face," she responded. "That cut was pretty bad…"

They exchanged a few more words before going back into the kitchen. Fifteen minutes passed before Christabel slipped into the sitting room. Lily sat up, surprised.

"Hello," Christabel said, taking a seat near Lily. "You're Lily, right? I'm Christabel." Lily could not find it in herself to say anything. She was emotionally exhausted. "It's okay," Christabel said, smiling, her perfect white teeth exposed. "You don't have to say anything. I just figured I'd come give you an update since nobody else has thought to."

Lily raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue.

"He's fine," Christabel said. "Or, he will be fine, that is. Aunt Minerva says that-"

"Minerva, as in Minerva McGonagall?" Lily asked, startled.

Christabel nodding, her smile widening. "She used to be your parents' teacher."

"I know," Lily said. A silence fell between the two girls. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. "Christabel…" Lily said hesitantly. "Will Scorpius truly be okay? I mean, you're not just telling me that to make me feel better? My brothers think he will be fine, but your brother is the genius with potions… Will Scorpius really be okay?"

"Yes," Christabel said. "Hunter is positive that he will make a full recovery. Thanks to you," she added.

"Me?" Lily asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Because you kept him calm for those last few minutes. If he had kept tensing up like that, the poison would have spread faster. It was a spectacular idea that Dominique had, bringing you in there… Plus, Scorpius seemed pretty relieved as well." Christabel raised her eyebrows, a smirk playing at her lips.

Lily did not even know this girl, but Christabel was trying to talk about boys with her. For a moment, Lily was taken aback, but then she found herself giggling. Lily was giggling harder than she had in a very long time, and finally, the wave of relief swept over her.

Scorpius was going to live.

**A/N:**

**Whoa, two chapters in a day? Crazy! This chapter was essential to the development of relationships, also the revelation of how close Scorpius and Albus's friendship is. Aww, they're BFFs. Adorable. Haha.**

**Let me know how it was. (;**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;) **


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**TRIGGER WARNING.**

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Two:**

**Lily Potter II:**

It was late in the evening and Lily knew that she needed to get some sleep, but she also knew she would not be able to sleep soundly without seeing Scorpius. He had been moved up to the fourth and last bedroom of the house, which McGonagall called the guest bedroom. Lily had avoided that room for the entire day, and nobody urged her to do otherwise.

Apparently, Scorpius had woken up a few times throughout the day, but had only been awake for minutes at a time. Lily desperately wondered what he had said during his time awake, but she knew that if she asked she would probably get one or two word answers. Albus had not left Scorpius's side since they had taken him upstairs and had not let anybody in the room to see him. This behavior was rather peculiar, but Lily dismissed it.

"You know," a voice cut into Lily's thoughts, "Aunt Minnie thinks we should stay inside." Lily looked from where she stood against the little cottage, watching the lights in the village go out, to see Hunter standing in the doorway with a smile on his face, revealing extremely deep dimples on his cheeks.

"Aunt Minnie?" Lily inquired, returning his smile easily. It was a relief to see a friendly face. "For some reason, I can't picture anybody calling Minerva McGonagall 'Aunt Minnie.'"

Hunter chuckled, striding forward and settling himself beside her against the wall. "I don't think she could picture herself being called that, either," he admitted. "But Christabel could never pronounce _Minerva_" - he said the name in a long, sort of drawling voice - "when she was a toddler, so our aunt got the name Aunt Minnie. Christabel rarely calls her Minnie anymore, but I can't seem to shake it, even if I am the oldest."

"How old are you?" Lily asked, glancing up at the sky, wondering if her father had gotten one last glimpse of the stars before he was taken captive in Nurmengard. She was momentarily distracted, but shook it off. She was speaking with Hunter, and surely, it would be rude to ignore him.

"Eighteen," he responded. "I just finished up my training."

"Did McGonagall teach you or did you have special training? Did you parents teach you?" Lily was always interested in other children's learning circumstances. She had always had such a strict schedule with Hawk in the library back at the manor that every other teenager she met - which was very rare - seemed to be incredibly interesting.

"Yes," he answered, rather reluctantly. "Our parents were killed only a few weeks after Christabel was born. We're actually Aunt Minnie's great, great niece and nephew. She's the only family we have left." Well, that was depressing. At least Lily had her basically everyone. Actually, the only people who she had lost that she had been relatively close to were Bill and Fleur.

"Oh," Lily said, "oh, I'm terribly sorry."

"Don't be," Hunter said, waving it off. "I don't remember any of it."

They were quiet for a moment. "You know," Lily said, "Dominique recently lost her parents."

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, intrigued. His interest seemed to falter momentarily. "I suppose using her dead parents a pickup line would not be very charming, would it? 'Hey, your parents are dead… my parents are dead… want to have a drink?'"

Lily laughed. "No, that probably wouldn't be a good idea."

"Maybe you could talk to her?" Hunter asked hesitantly. "I mean, since you're friends-"

"Oh, Dominique and I aren't friends," Lily said quickly. Hunter cocked his head questioningly. "I mean, well, obviously I don't hate her or anything." That sounded strange, even in Lily's mind. "We just sort of have never gotten along. Today - what you saw - with Scorpius - well -"

"No need to explain," Hunter said, grinning at Lily's obvious discomfort. "I guess I'm on my own, then. Speaking of your boyfriend-"

Lily nearly choked. "He's not my boyfriend," she interrupted.

"Wow, you must treat everyone you hate with so much love," Hunter remarked, his voice laced with playful sarcasm. Lily stuck her tongue out at him, and his easy grin widened. Lily was quite startled. This was the second time someone had mentioned love in relation to Lily and Scorpius. First, Dominique, now Hunter, who she hardly knew…

"Anyway," Lily said hastily, "thanks for helping him. You were quite the doctor."

Hunter's smile faltered. "Hardly. I applied for an internship at St. Mungos only a few weeks ago, and they denied me, despite my excellent marks in everything that I needed to be a doctor. I was great in Potions, I can't believe they didn't accept me."

"Sorry," Lily said, truly meaning it. "Well, if it counts for anything, you were brilliant today." Lily sighed. "I was worried sick."

"I could tell," Hunter said. "Your brother is being annoyingly overprotective, though. I mean, you're alright, at least. I thought I was going to have stupefy him so I could make sure Scorpius was doing okay." Lily did not need to ask him if it was Albus he was talking about.

"Sorry," Lily said hastily. "Albus is overprotective over all of us. It can be a bit annoying."

"Lily," a new voice said from the door. Speaking of the devil… Lily glanced up to see Albus waiting for her by the door. He did not seem panicked, so she knew that Scorpius was okay. "He wants to talk to you."

"Alright," Lily responded, trying to ignore that her heart picked up pace. Albus waited for her to follow him, a steely look in his eyes as he looked between her and Hunter.. "_Okay,_" Lily said, "I'll be in a minute." He waited for another moment until Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. She grinned apologetically at Hunter. "Sorry," she said. "I'll see you later."

Hunter nodded, his friendly smile still on his face, as Lily followed Albus back indoors.

…

"I don't know what happened to you, Lily," Albus snapped as the walked up the stairs. Lily was trying to be quiet, because she was fairly certain everyone was sleeping. It had taken awhile to arrange where everyone would be bunking, considering Scorpius had taken the only guest bedroom in the house. It was later agreed that Dominique, Rose, and Lily would share Christabel's room and James, Albus, Hugo, and Louis would share Hunter's room.

"What are you talking about?" Lily demanded, her temper with Albus very short because of his behavior throughout the day.

Albus spun around to face her, despite that they were right in the middle of the set of stairs. "Scorpius could have _died _today, and you act like you hardly care at all."

"I hardly care?" Lily asked, her temper flaring. "Are you joking, Albus? The last time I checked, you had to kick me out of the kitchen because apparently, I cared too much and it wasn't _good _for me to be in the room while Scorpius was at his worst." Albus opened his mouth, but Lily kept talking, her anger seeming skyrocket even higher within seconds. "You're so ignorant, Albus! Even Dominique could see that I needed to be in there for Scorpius. You're selfish, Albus! You are so selfish. I understand that he's your best friend, and I'm glad that he has someone like you to keep him in line, but that does not give you the right to lecture _me _on how to treat him-"

"Damn it, Lily!" Albus said venomously. "He's not normal_. _You have absolutely no right to jerk around his feelings like that-"

"Shut up!" Lily snapped as Albus's voice rose, half because he was annoying her more than ever before, half because she did not want him to wake anybody up. "You're out of line, Albus. I am absolutely not jerking his feelings around, I don't know where you'd even get that idea-"

"You are out there, shoving yourself at someone you hardly know-"

"Are you talking about _Hunter?_" Lily demanded, and when Albus did not respond, she laughed outright. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I hardly know him, like you said. He was being nice, and you know it. We are living under his roof, with his aunt and his sister. I think it is required that we are nice to each other."

"Lily," Albus said exasperatedly. "I am going to tell you something that you are probably too blind to see for yourself. Scorpius cares about you. He cares about you more than he has cared about anybody else. You're too young to know how to treat somebody like him-"

"He's not handicapped!" Lily said loudly. "I don't know what your problem is, Albus, I really don't-"

Suddenly, Albus grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the railing of the stairs. "I am trying to protect him," he said angrily. "He doesn't deserve to go through anymore hardships-"

"News flash," Lily hissed, "we are in the middle of one right now! I don't know why you feel that you need to protect him. Actually, this is a complete turn around from what I heard you and Scorpius talking about the other night." Albus's face paled. "When we were still in forest, before we got to Hogwarts, you warned Scorpius not to jerk _my _feelings around. What happened?"

"I just know Scorpius," Albus responded. "I know what lengths he would go to punish himself. I was worried for you then. But then I saw the way he looked at you in the kitchen this morning. I saw how his eyes sought you out when you came back in, and I saw how much faith he has in you for… for… I don't know. I can just see that he cares more about you than he's ever cared about anybody, and you're fucking him over-"

"Are you in lovewith him or something?" Lily snapped, and was shocked at his reaction.

"Don't ever joke about that," he snarled savagely, his nails digging into her shoulders as he thrust her even harder against the railing of the stairs. He shook her roughly. "Do you understand? Never, ever joke about that again." Abruptly, he let go of her. "Go upstairs," he snapped. "Go, he's been asking for you. It's the least you can give him."

Lily, startled, began walking up the stairs without another word. When she reached the top step, Albus caught her wrist. "Lily," he said, and Lily's shock was intensified when she saw that his eyes were filled with tears, "don't repeat what we talked about, especially to Scorpius."

…

Scorpius was sitting up in the bed, he legs slung over the side that faced the window. The moon was the only light source, for the table lamp was off. It shone through the window, making his skin and hair seem lighter than it already was. His shirt was off, as it had been when Lily bandaged his wounds the night before and when the others had taken the glass out of his back that morning. The wounds had been closed with a healing spell, but they had not been healed completely. Angry red, puckered scars now covered his back. Lily swallowed, trying to push the overwhelming sadness away. His back had been the only part of his upper body that had not been covered in scars…

"Lily," Scorpius said, without looking at her. A sense of déjà vu fell over Lily. It was just like when she had showed up at the music room for one the first times and Scorpius did not have to turn around to see that it was her. That seemed like years ago. "I am starting to seriously question your tendency to linger in doorways without alerting the room's occupants of your presence." It was then that he turned his body slightly, wincing as he did so, to see her in the doorway.

A sense of relief that Lily had never felt before crashed into her like a tidal wave. Now that she saw Scorpius, awake and talking, she could not get the image of his eyes sliding shut on the kitchen island out of her head. She was so certain that he was going to die. When she had made that conclusion, she had absolutely no idea how she would have went on. Lily was completely horrified to feel tears fill her eyes. Lily never used to cry. How could Scorpius's presence trigger such an emotional reaction from her? It seemed as if she never cried unless he was around…

"Oh, quiet," Lily said, trying to disguise the tears that were made obvious in her voice. She walked hesitantly into the room, though every nerve in her body was telling her to throw herself at Scorpius and never let go of him.

"If you weren't such a brilliant teenage witch, I'd say you should look into the stalker field…" He grinned at her, and Lily's throat tightened even more. _He is so beautiful, _Lily was shocked to find herself thinking. But it was true. Lily had never seen anybody more beautiful than Scorpius Malfoy. His scars made his beauty even more evident, though she knew most people would not think so. They were part of him, part of his past… They made him who he was.

When Lily didn't respond, Scorpius's expression softened. "Lily," he said quietly. Lily just stared at him, wide-eyed, praying that the tears would not overflow onto her cheeks and give her emotions away. Scorpius beckoned her forward, and that was all it took for Lily to stride across the room and place herself beside him, trying to be gentle all at the same time.

"I was so scared," Lily whispered, dying to touch him but not knowing how. She did not want to hurt him. Though Lily knew that Scorpius was probably only sore by now, she did not want to risk it. "Scorpius," she said, her eyes never leaving his gray ones, "I have never been so scared in my life."

"Ah," Scorpius murmured, a bit breathless, a small smile touching his lips, "she confesses her love for me at last."

Finally, _finally, _Lily started to cry again. Not just silent tears, though. Huge, racking sobs took over her body, and she was humiliated when Scorpius put his arms around her, whispering, "Shh, Lily, shh… Don't cry, please, don't cry… I'm okay… I'm fine…"

Lily could hardly believe that the last time Scorpius had held her while she cried was only the day before. She was hit again by Scorpius's unyielding kindness. Lily wondered if he was only this kind to her, because she had definitely never seen him treat anybody the same way he treated her.

Scorpius's arms felt so familiar to her, though she had only felt their true embrace a couple of times before. He held Lily's body against him so tightly that it had to have been causing him some sort of physical pain. His right arm rested vertically against her back, with his hand holding a fistful of her hair at the nape of her neck. His left arm was around her lower waist, his hand grasping the hem of her shirt. Lily's face was hidden, for she had buried her face in the crook of his neck. If his logic was the tighter he held her, the more he was able to prove that he was alive, he was correct, but it definitely did not do anything to stop Lily's crying. She hated herself for making herself seem so weak in front of Scorpius, but she had been so scared… Surely, he had to understand.

"Lily, I'm okay," he said again. "Please, Lily, don't do this to yourself…"

"I can't help it," Lily choked out. "Scorpius, I'm sorry… This has to be getting annoying… The crying, I mean. I never used to cry like this… I just saw you on the table in the kitchen you looked so sick! Scorpius, you looked like you were going to die! I thought you _had _died! I… I…" She broke off, still completely mortified.

Scorpius sighed softly, pulling her onto his lap and into a position similar to the one they took when he played the piano in the Room of Requirement the night before. Lily started to pull away, fearing that her weight would be too much for him in his injured state. When she did, he tightened his arms around her, obviously not about to let her go anywhere. "I'm sorry I did that to you," he said quietly, forcing her to look at him. "I just saw those Death Eaters aiming at Albus and I couldn't just stand there. If it counts for anything, the last thing I thought before the pain took over was, _If this kills me, Lily will bring me back to life just to kill me again. _After all, I had promised you I'd meet you at the address."

Lily gave him a watery smile as she regained her composure. "You _were_ trying to give me a message before we left the gates, then… When you were speaking to Albus…" Lily thought her brother, and her heart dropped and confusion clouded her thoughts. His reaction on the stairs was still troubling her.

"Yes," Scorpius said softly. "I couldn't walk straight into battle knowing I had completely ignored you all morning…" There was a double meaning to his words. He might as well have said, _After I left before you woke up and didn't leave any indication that I was there at all. _

"Wait…" Lily had to know. "Did you and Albus know that we would be attacked?"

"Yes," Scorpius said openly. "Snape tracked down Albus in the castle - traveling through other portraits - and told him that the Death Eater's plans had changed. We hoped that if we had not told anybody, everyone would disapparate out of shock." He grinned. "We should have known we would not get rid of you that easily."

Lily smiled in return, resting her cheek against his chest hesitantly. She wondered if he felt strange with their bodies pressed so intimately together. Lily surely felt _different, _but not strange. It seemed to come almost naturally to her, in a horribly cliché sort of way. "Scorpius?" she asked, her heart nearly stopping when he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you leave this morning?

Scorpius was quiet for a long time. "I couldn't face you," he finally said. "Not after what happened last night. I…" He paused. "Nobody has ever seen me like that. Well, except for Albus. He's the only person who knows of my… problem. Actually, that's why he wouldn't let anybody in to see me today. Hunter told me that it would be best to keep my shirt off so the fabric wouldn't irritate the healing scars. The wounds were too deep to magick a full recovery," he explained. "Albus knew I wouldn't want anybody to see my scars. It took me about an hour for me to convince him that you had seen them and I didn't mind if you saw them again. Hunter healed the cuts from last night when he healed the ones on my back. Albus said he played it off as if they were from the glass, but it was pretty obvious that they weren't."

Lily was silent.

"I'm sorry I left this morning," Scorpius said. "I reacted without thinking."

Lily pulled away gently and pulled the arm that embraced her in the front away from her body so she could look at his scars. She ran her fingers along the upraised skin, her eyes wide. "What makes you do it?" she asked quietly, looking up to see her gauging her expression.

"Ah…" He looked uncomfortable.

"You don't have to tell me," Lily said quickly.

"No," he said, "that's not it… I just don't know what you'll think of me."

Slowly, Lily reached up and rested her hand on Scorpius's cheek. He drew in breath softly. "I won't think any less of you," Lily said earnestly. "I promise."

"Well," he said as Lily lowered her hand. "It is disgusting. I think so, anyway. First it was because I thought I could get some sort of punishment out of it. I don't know," he said sheepishly. "I found a razor and I got that brilliant idea. At first, it worked. I forced myself to do it. It truly hurt for the first few times. Then I found myself doing it because it felt good. _Really _good. Morbid, right?" He laughed shakily. "It is not like I was getting some sort of erotic enjoyment out of it or anything, don't worry." Scorpius grinned when Lily flushed. "Last night, when you found me, there was so much tension… That's all I can remember. I could hardly walk without locking up. I have never been like that. Well, once before. I was fourteen."

"Was it-" Lily began, her heart seeming to fall from her chest and down to her stomach.

"Yes, it was when the muggleborn girl stayed at the manor. I didn't treat her very well," Scorpius admitted. "Not very well at all. When she left, I have never felt so guilty in my life. It ruined me. She was so innocent and I took that from her." Lily was trying hard not to imagine Scorpius taking the girl's innocence. A burning jealousy hit her full force, and she had to restrain herself from tensing up. "I ruined her," he said so softly Lily had to strain to hear him. "I would have killed myself if Albus had not found me." He pulled his other arm from around her and placed it in her lap, revealing his wrist. A scar, much deeper than the rest, tore across the skin. Lily covered it with her hand, shuddering.

"Then," Scorpius continued, keeping her hand over his wrist, "when Albus told me my father had been killed… Honestly, Lily, I can't even remember what happened up until the point where you found me in the bathroom. I have no recollection of it. I do that sometimes. Sometimes I…" He paused. "Albus calls it dissociation. When he's not investigating the Death War, he's studying my… _conditions._"

Lily's eyes widened, realization settling over her. "You mean, when we were back at the manor, and you would destroy your bedroom-"

Scorpius nodded, glancing down at their hands. "I have absolutely no recollection of it. I would eventually pass out and wake up with horrible hangovers, bloody knuckles from punching the walls, destroyed pieces of furniture scattering my room…

"The morning you found Hawk, your scream tore me out of it. I…" He broke off, shaking his head. "I'm ruining you, too, you know," Scorpius said softly. "I'm a giant burden. It may sound like I am seeking attention, but I've ruined three lives with my problems. You're the fourth."

"Who are you talking about?" Lily asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"My father. The girl from when I was fourteen. Albus. And now you." Suddenly, Lily thought of Dominique. Scorpius must not have realized how strongly Dominique felt for him.

"Well," Lily said, her voice only a whisper. "You haven't ruined my life."

"You don't think I have," Scorpius said with a small, sad smile. Lily could see exhaustion starting to take over his features. He had been sitting up and talking for a long time now, and he was still recovering from his injuries.

"You need to go to sleep," Lily said firmly, maneuvering herself off of his lap so she was standing in front of him. "You're not going to heal unless you sleep."

"Ooh, bossy. I like that." Just like that, he was Scorpius again. Snarky, clever, and full of quips.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do," she responded, and Scorpius's eyes widened. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Did you just flirt back, Lily?" Scorpius asked, his eyes full of mock wonder.

Lily flushed as she gently pushed Scorpius down onto the pillow. "You're delirious," Lily said, but even she had to admit… she was totally flirting. "Hunter must have given you a little too much of the pain numbing potion."

"Good man," Scorpius said approvingly, stretching out his arm beside him. "Well?" he asked expectantly, using the hand on his outstretched arm to gesture at the open spot beside him. "Are you going to lay down? It is really your only option, because Merlin knows you don't want to share a bedroom with Rose."

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lily kicked off her sneakers and climbed in bed beside Scorpius. She laid on her side, her hand resting on his chest and her head on his outstretched arm. To Lily complete astonishment, Scorpius placed his available arm across her waist, sighing contentedly. "Your brothers will be horrified if they find you in here with me," he remarked, sounding as if he was just about to doze off.

Lily did not respond, because she knew that he was completely and utterly correct.

**A/N:**

**Whoa. Info OVERLOAD. **

**This chapter was difficult for me to write because I know so many writers who go into the whole self-harm thing and lightly touch on it, making their characters simply cut, with no real logical explanation for it. It is really hard because self-harm is a real world thing that many people are familiar with. I truly put effort into trying to make it seem more than what it appears - because it **_**is **_**more than what it appears. I hope that I have made it out to what it really is and not just some under exaggerated thing that writers throw in for drama. Self-harm is a very touchy subject, considering everyone does it for different reasons, and I hope I have succeeded in writing it. **

**So. Albus. Thoughts? It took me a loooooooong time to decide how to write him in the chapter. **

**Oh. And Hunter. Predictions? **

**Thanks for being patient guys. I've spent a lot of time on this chapter. Your reviews are appreciated, as always!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily sighed contentedly, feeling incredibly warm. She could feel someone's breath on her neck, feel limbs entangled with her own. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was and what was happening. Startled, Lily opened her eyes, tensed, and relaxed once more. Both of Scorpius's arms were around her, and his face was buried in her neck. He was breathing deeply, sound asleep.

Lily flushed when she realized she could feel his lips brushing against her neck. Of course, Scorpius had no clue his lips were on her neck. He was sleeping. Something about it, though, made Lily's heart pound in her chest and her breathing hitch. Even when he was sleeping, he drove Lily mad. Even when he wasn't even _trying, _he managed to make her feel sick with longing.

Slowly, Lily reached up and ran her fingers through his silky hair. She was taking everything in, because she did not know if this was last time that she would be able to feel him this way. She could feel every bit of his body against hers. Every bit of hard, lean muscle… the curve of his hipbones… everything. Lily's breathing hitched again as she started to feel warm not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. A strange sensation started to take place in her stomach, and she involuntarily felt herself starting to pull herself closer to him. She felt sort of tingly all over and…

_Oh dear Merlin, _Lily thought, feeling blood rush up to her face as she forcibly restrained herself from making this anymore intimate than it was. _Oh no. I can't be like this. I can't be a hormonal teenage girl. Not right now. No, we have bigger problems on our hands. I… _

Lily took a deep, shuddering breath. What had just happened? When did she start… _wanting _him this way? Oh, if only Scorpius knew what was going on in her head right then. He would never let her live it down. It would just open a whole new drawer of sexual innuendos for him to tamper with. But then, there was a little voice in the back of Lily's head that told her, no, Scorpius would never make fun of her for seriously wanting him…

Lily mentally kicked herself. They hadn't even kissed. Hell, Lily had never kissed _anybody._ What was she doing, thinking about things like… _sex? _Lily shuddered, scolding herself. She was humiliated for even thinking that way. She was humiliated for allowing herself to feel so aroused - she shuddered again at the word _aroused _-and was even more humiliated at the fact that the likeliness of Scorpius feeling that way toward her was zero to none.

Scorpius stretched, his arms tightening around her. _This is not helping, _Lily thought tensely. _This is not helping at all. _He sighed heavily into her neck. Lily could feel his lips form a smile on her neck before he pulled away and looked at her. "Why are you blushing?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep as he rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"I'm not… blushing," Lily said, cursing herself for turning a darker shade of red.

"Right," he said, nodding and closing his eyes again, this time resting his head on his pillow. "Whatever you say." He continued speaking, oblivious to the glare Lily was giving him. "I'm surprised your brothers haven't come barging in here," he mused. "We really took a chance."

"You did," a new voice agreed. Scorpius groaned when he opened his eyes to see Dominique standing in the doorway, only to promptly shut them again. "Lily," Dominique said, seeming to avoid looking at Scorpius. "James is in the kitchen making tea and Albus is just starting to wake up. I'm sure you want to avoid any unnecessary predicaments, so I'd get out of bed before they find you."

Deciding Dominique was correct, despite seeming to have terribly confusing motives, Lily got out bed, nearly gasping when Scorpius's hand grazed her waistline when he protested the fact that she was leaving. "No," Lily said to him. "Dominique's right. I have to go have a shower anyway. I'll see you later."

After a few more mumbled protests from Scorpius, Lily followed Dominique out the door. She opened her mouth to say something, but Dominique had already entered the room she, Rose, and Christabel were sharing. Sighing, more confused than ever, Lily hurried into the bathroom across the hall.

When she had used the bathroom she was partially horrified, partially fascinated to see that her underwear was soaking wet.

…

"Look at you," Hunter said, making Lily jump as she rounded the corner into the living room. He was laying in a tangle of blankets on the couch, his dark hair mussed from sleep. "Escaping Scorpius's bedroom like a dirty whore. The whole picture would be perfect if you were carrying your shoes and tiptoeing like you had something to hide… Which, apparently, you do. Not your boyfriend, eh?" Lily gapped at him and Hunter's grin widened. "I'm joking," he said, and when Lily's facial expression didn't relax, he rolled his eyes. "I had to check on Scorpius throughout the night to make sure he was breathing and that his body hadn't rejected the potion, so of course I know you were sleeping with him."

Lily made a groaning sound and sat down near Hunter's feet.

"Well, sleeping _next _to him, not with him. If I wasn't being specific, I guess _with _him could still be counted as correct but not in the sexual way, of course-"

"Do you always talk this much in the morning?" Lily snapped.

"Only when there's something to talk about," Hunter said, unashamed. "Listen, I won't tell anybody. But, I would like something in return." Lily raised an eyebrow at him, mentally exhausted from the thoughts she had when she had woken up. Hunter continued on. "Tell me about Dominique. Past boyfriends? Her standards? I need something to work with."

"Past boyfriends: Scorpius. Standards: none." Lily felt guilty for speaking ill of Dominique after she had helped her some much, but old habits were going to be hard to shake. Plus, Lily had no clue if Dominique's behavior was some sort of scheme she and Rose had planned out.

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "So I guess that means you have no standards if you're going for Scorpius?"

Lily felt stupid. "No. I _do _have standards," she said, irritated. She had liked Hunter a lot better the night before. "Dominique was just lucky that Scorpius decided to play around with her for awhile." Lily wondered exactly what sort of playing they had been doing. "Listen closely, Hunter," Lily said. "Dominique was confined her entire life in a house, just like the rest of us were. Actually, probably _more _confined than we were. She was stuck in a house with her brother until her parents died. At least I had two siblings, two cousins, and Scorpius to make things interesting. It is not surprising that she has no standards. She's probably desperate for human interaction. Just be careful. I'm sure you're a great person, and at the beginning, Dominique will think so too… Until she finds someone she thinks is better."

"Harsh," Hunter remarked, and Lily shrugged. He thought for a few seconds. "Want to do an experiment?"

"A Potions experiment?" Lily asked, startled at the apparent change of subject.

"No," Hunter said, his dimples showing. "Want to help me make Dominique jealous? It might make her see me for the brilliant human being I am."

"Er… no." Lily rubbed her eyes. "It would be fun if I didn't have Scorpius's feelings to worry about."

"So you admit he's your boyfriend?"

"Damn it, Hunter-"

"I'm joking," Hunter said, raising his hands up in defense. "I get it, I get it. Just know that the offer will be on the table for awhile. I'm not going to be with Dominique if you're certain she's just settling with me. I need to see if I can get an emotional reaction from her."

Lily sighed. "Trust me, Dominique is the queen of emotional reactions. It won't take much to get one of those from her. Try making her mad, and you'll get one."

"You're in a bad mood," Hunter noted, slinging his legs over the side of the couch so he was sitting closer to her.

"I'm in a confused mood," Lily corrected, pushing red strands of hair out of her face and twisting her body to fully face him. She had just met Hunter, but she had the overwhelming desire to tell someone what had happened to her that morning. She knew that she would completely regret it, considering that Hunter was a boy and well… _Hunter. _

"Why?"

"You really don't want to know."

"Girl things?"

"Sort of."

"Menstrual cramps?"

"Er… no." It amazed Lily how easily she could hold a conversation with Hunter. The only other person she had held a conversation so smoothly with was Roxanne, who she had nearly forgotten about in all of the chaos that was her life now. Lily was able to banter freely with Hunter, playfully insult him without the fear of hurting feelings or getting smacked. Any ill feelings she had toward him earlier in their discussion went away.

"Then what is it?"

"Hunter…" Lily said, taking a deep breath and lowering her voice when she heard clanging coming from the kitchen across the hall. She remembered Dominique had said James was making tea. Hunter leaned closer so he could hear Lily. "Um… well…" Lily hesitated for a moment. "How much do you know about… _sex?_"

"You had sex with Scorpius?" Hunter asked blatantly. "He's recoveringfrom a major catastrophic injury, Lily! What the hell?"

"No," Lily snapped. "Merlin, _no. _Scorpius and I haven't even kissed. I mean, I've never even kissed anybody so I know it is wrong to be thinking about this, but this morning was just so strange, and I can't really go into details for obvious reasons because I just met you yesterday and you probably think I'm weird anyway for asking-"

"You've never kissed anybody?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"I've been confined in a manor my whole life and have only started seeing Scorpius as a fine option for a boyfriend just recently," Lily pointed out obviously, finally admitting to herself and Hunter that she _would _like Scorpius as a boyfriend. She felt light and airy at this major revelation, but had trouble accepting it as a fact.

"Do you want to kiss someone?" Hunter asked.

"I mean, sure," Lily rambled, oblivious to what Hunter was offering. "There's not really that many options, though, is there? There's Scorpius, but he's who we're talking about. It would be nice if I had some experience under my belt, you know, just to even out the grounds… He's kissed two people before. This girl from years ago, and then Dominique. I've kissed nobody. It makes me a little nervous, but who knows if I'll even kiss him ever? I have no clue if I'll even live through today, so-"

Suddenly, Hunter leaned forward and crushed his lips to Lily's. Lily was caught off guard, but she had no time to feel anything else. Hunter pulled away as quickly as he leaned in and grinned triumphantly at her. "There," he said, his dimples more prominent than ever. "Now you've kissed somebody. If Scorpius asks, you can tell him you have. But don't tell him it was me. He'll rip my head off. He doesn't seem like the pacifist type."

Lily was gapping at Hunter, her eyes wide. "What was _that?_" She hadn't felt any like the sun was exploding or like she had fallen deeply, passionately in love… She took that as a good sign. Luckily, she did not feel awkward either. Lily would have guessed she would have felt awkward in this situation, but the only thing she felt was surprise and amusement.

"A kiss, obviously," Hunter responded, waving it away as if it were nothing. "But now you owe me."

"Right," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "What would that be?"

"Talk to Dominique for me," Hunter said, completely serious. Lily grimaced. "Please, Lily? I know that it will be hard, since apparently you hate her, but I really want to know how she feels about me."

"Hunter," Lily said slowly, "you met her yesterday."

"I met you yesterday, and look, I kissed you!"

Lily groaned. "You're not going to let me live that down… Fine, fine! I'll talk to her, but Hunter, you're probably only going to get what her first impression was, if anything. I can probably already tell you what her first impression was, though. She was eyeing you like you were something to eat when you were helping Scorpius."

"Really?" Hunter asked eagerly, and Lily wondered what the hell happened to the smoothly sarcastic boy she met the night before. Lily nodded and Hunter grinned, shaking his head. "Lily," he said, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"If that isn't cliché, I don't know what is," Lily remarked.

Hunter laughed. "Come on, then," he said, getting up and taking her hand so he could pull her to her feet. "It is my turn to make breakfast. Aunt Minnie is probably up in her bedroom, having her morning tea, and if she comes down stairs and breakfast isn't started… Well, you don't want to know."

"Is this you forcing me to help you make breakfast?"

"That's exactly what it is."

**A/N:**

**Alright. You guys. Apology apology apology. Sorry for not updating for so long. I literally rewrote this chapter three times. First, it was James barging in on Scorpius and Lily. Too cliché. Then it was just them waking up and being all awkward about sleeping next too each other. Too boring. SO you guys get horny Lily! If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is. **

**I love Hunter. I know you guys probably hate him for the kiss, but I love him. **

**Right, well, this was just a calm chapter after that intense one with Scorpius and his mental state and etc. The next one will consist of more heavy stuff, more along the lines of what the children will do next.**

**WHOA WAIT SOMETHING REALLY COOL HAPPENED**

**So. **

**I have this brilliant reader (her name is May Braylen here on FF) who I love because she drew FAN ART. Of this story. FAN ART OF SOMETHING I WROTE AND I AM SO EXCITED AND I LOVE HER FOR IT AND OH MY GOD IT MAKES IT EVEN BETTER BECAUSE THIS IS MY FAVORITE SCENE AND MY FEELINGS FOR THIS ARE JUST OH MY JESUS- **

**Right. Cough. Sorry. Sort of just blew the whole lazy-writer-composure that I probably never had going in the first place. BUT THIS IS WORTH IT.**

**Unfortunately fucking FF won't let me post the link, so check my twitter for the link. Or if you're not following me, check my profile.**

**But yeah, first fan art every drawn for anything I've ever written and I am so flattered and I love it. But totally check it out because it is awesome. **

**Okay. Please review because I love you and I hope you still love me after not updating for so long.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;) **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Once breakfast was on the island, and chairs had been conjured, Hunter and Lily sat down across from each other. It did not take long for the others to smell the food and hurry into the kitchen. Scorpius was last, being half-dragged by a protesting Albus. "You know," Albus was saying. "I can bring breakfast up to you. It isn't that big of a deal. You already look like you're going to faint."

"And yet, you still help me," Scorpius said, oblivious to the fact that Albus's eyes were blazing and his cheeks were tinged pink as he stared intensely at Scorpius. _What the hell? _Lily thought to herself. The conversation she had with Albus the night before came back to her. Lily had a feeling that if she had not had that conversation with Albus, she would not have noticed how he was looking at Scorpius. There was a very painful looking longing written clearly across his face. How had Lily never noticed this before?

Scorpius disengaged himself from Albus's grasp and flopped himself down in the chair beside Lily. "Good morning," he said pleasantly. "How did you sleep?" Lily grinned down at her lap, rolling her eyes. Scorpius knew perfectly well how she slept, since he had slept right beside her all night.

Lily felt Scorpius's hand on her leg underneath the table and she nearly jumped up in surprise. It was not a bad surprise at all, just a very surprised surprise. Of course, nobody could see what was going on down underneath the table, and Scorpius's hand was only just above her knee… Nonetheless, the feelings she had had earlier in the morning resurfaced and she cursed herself for being such a hormonal teenage girl. She glanced up at Scorpius, hoping to see that his cheeks were tinged with color, but that was not the case. He was just watching her, the amused glint in his eye more prominent than ever. Lily relaxed, looking up at Rose as she dragged a half sleeping Hugo through the door and shoved him down in the seat beside Albus, who had taken a spot beside Hunter.

Finally, everyone had arrived and had taken seats around the island. McGonagall had joined them at the head of the table, looking as if she had been awake for hours already. "Good morning," she said briskly, glancing between Scorpius and Albus, shaking her head in disbelief. "It is so strange to see people so similar in looks to Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter sitting civilly around a table."

"Well," Albus said after a moment of silence, "we are far better off this way."

"Indeed you are, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "Now, please explain to me your circumstances." She paused, a small smile appearing on her face. "Or as much as you can. I suspect, like your father, you will tell me as little as possible."

Surprisingly, Albus launched into the story without hesitation, not leaving anything out. Lily thought that this was a good idea. Excellent, really, as long as McGonagall did not insist on helping. It was crucial that there was someone on the sidelines that knew exactly what was going on, so she could deliver the story to someone who would take their place if they all managed to get themselves killed. Hunter and Christabel listened closely, their faces becoming more disbelieving as each word left Albus's mouth. Lily saw James eyeing Christabel from his spot on the other side of Scorpius. _Great, _Lily thought, _more complicated relationships._

Suddenly, Louis caught Lily's eye from the corner of the table, where he was crammed uncomfortably between Dominique and Rose. There was a mischievous glint in his eye, a glint that made Lily terribly uneasy. He grinned maliciously at her, glancing at Scorpius, then at Hunter, and then back to her eyes. Louis raised and eyebrow, before shaking his head. _No, no, no, _Lily thought in panic. _Oh, Merlin, he knows about the kiss with Hunter. Damn it! _He would definitely use it against her now. That dirty little spy. Lily swallowed, her breath coming in pants.

Scorpius stroked his thumb over her leg, grabbing her attention. She looked up at him to see him watching her concernedly. Luckily, Lily was able to pass her discomfort off as sadness toward a particularly intense part of the story Albus was telling.

When Albus finished, he took a deep breath. "Now, we need to decide what to do next."

McGonagall nodded slowly. "I see… Nurmengard is the headquarters for planning, while Malfoy manor is the living quarters." Lily felt Scorpius's hand tense on her leg, and without thinking, she laced her fingers through his. McGonagall continued speaking, oblivious to the mental pain she had inflicted. "You can not alert the Ministry because it is being infiltrated by Death Eaters, unsurprisingly." McGonagall rolled her eyes impatiently, as if she expected the Ministry to be infiltrated. "Your parents are being held captive, but according to Severus Snape's portrait they are not being tortured."

"But we don't know if they will be tortured," Rose interjected. "We won't know until we get a closer look at things."

"What are you implying?" Scorpius asked, suddenly all business.

"I say that we go in and see what we're up against," Rose said seriously. "We need to figure out-"

"Absolutely not," Albus said. "I don't think barging into Nurmengard will make anything more clear-"

"I say we do it," Scorpius said, and Albus faltered.

"Are you volunteering yourself, then?" Dominique asked. "It is a terribleidea. Obviously, it would only be one or two of us going in, but is it even worth risking our lives like that? Not to mention, if we were caught, the Death Eaters would know that the Potter-Weasley kids were up to something and do you know what would happen then? Our parents would probably get _killed._"

"_Their _parents," Scorpius corrected cruelly. "The last time I checked, ours were dead, Dominique."

Dominique flinched at Scorpius's words. "You forget that my sister and brother-in-law-"

"Details, details," Scorpius said, seeming to disregard Dominique at this point. She sat back in her seat, defeated. Lily watched Hunter shot a loathsome glare at Scorpius and turned his gaze to Dominique, who was staring angrily at her lap, tears sliding down her cheeks. Lily felt a pang of pity.

"So would we be sending you in to do the investigating, Scorpius?" Louis said, breaking the silence. If he was sticking up for his sister, or just looking for attention, Lily did not know.

"Obviously," Scorpius said, deadpan. Lily looked at Scorpius, her eyes wide. He was avoiding her gaze, but she could see the tension that formed in his shoulders when he saw the look she was giving him.

"I wouldn't send you in there alone," Albus said, seeming to be uneasily considering the idea of scoping out Nurmengard. Lily watched as McGonagall appraised the children, straight-faced and unmoving. Lily wondered if McGonagall thought this was a good idea or if she thought the children were making the worst decision of their lives.

"Well, you wouldn't be coming with me," Scorpius said.

"You're recovering from an injury that nearly cost you your life," Hunter interjected. "You can't-"

"We can wait a few weeks," Scorpius said. "I'll be fit to apparate in a few weeks. Let me do it."

"No, Hunter is right," Albus said, nodding. "No, we can't send you in there. Not alone. Not at all, really."

"Send me," Lily finally exploded. Her desperation had been reaching a peak since Scorpius had volunteered himself. He couldn't go in there alone. No, she would not allow it. Scorpius absolutely would not go in there at all, if Lily could help it.

Scorpius tore his hand out of hers and gripped the edges of the island, looking at her as if she had offered to drink poison just for the hell of it. "Absolutely not," he said.

"You can't boss me around," Lily snapped childishly at him. "I volunteer." Albus raised an eyebrow, considering, and with a pang of sadness, Lily mentally noted that yesterday morning Albus would have never even thought about putting her life in danger. "Listen," Lily trudged forward. "Nobody knows what I look like. I never left the manor. Everyone knows Harry Potter has two identical sons, and everybody would know just who Scorpius was by seeing the resemblance between him and his father. I look more like mum, but it would stump them for a few minutes. Then I could escape, hopefully without being fired at right away."

"Why can't we send Rose or Dominique?" Scorpius asked tensely.

"Because they are more important than I am."

"_Bullshit!_" Scorpius shouted suddenly, making everyone jump. Hugo was so startled he nearly fell off his chair. "They are not more important than you, Lily, and you know it-"

"Lily," Albus said, ignoring Scorpius. "That is the best idea you've ever had."

"No," Scorpius said savagely.

"Really, Lily… It all works out. We'll have to teach you to apparate, of course."

"_No,_" Scorpius said again, and Lily recognized the manic note in his voice making its self known.

"We'll start today. We'll teach you to apparate, how to use a couple Unforgivables if necessary… Obviously not the Killing Curse. This will take a few weeks, but I think we can get it-"

"_Lily is not going to Nurmengard without me and THAT IS FINAL!_" Scorpius finally yelled, standing up and slamming his fist on the island, making the plates that held the untouched breakfast shake. A deadly silence followed. Even Louis, who always had an annoyingly cocky look on his face, was in complete shock. Albus was obviously trying to regain his composure so he could offer a valid argument, but Scorpius had already stormed out of the room, slamming the kitchen door behind him.

Lily stood up as well, her cheeks flaming in humiliation. Scorpius not going to get away with this. No, he would not treat her like a child and then storm out when _he _didn't get his way. She hurried out the kitchen door after him. He had already managed to leave out the front door of the house. Lily quickly followed after him, beginning to feel concerned for his physical wellbeing. Surely, too much moving around was not good after his injury.

She found him on the side of the cottage, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. He was looking up at the cloudy sky, though his eyes were closed. Scorpius exhaled through his nostrils before saying, "Lily, go away," without looking at her. When she did not move, he made a low, frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "Go. Away. Lily."

"You don't get to do this, you know," Lily said slowly. "You don't get to act like this now."

"Act like what now?" he asked, finally opening his eyes and looking at her. "Acting concerned? Hoping you don't walk into a death trap? Praying to _Merlin_ that you don't do something stupid because of your tendency to walk around corners without looking first?"

"Literally or figuratively?" Lily asked softly, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. Had he just implied that she was ignorant?

"Both," Scorpius said, sighing. There was a long moment of silence, and finally, Scorpius spoke again, his eyes blazing. "You're not going to Nurmengard. I'll talk to Albus, I'll make him see sense. I don't know what has gotten into him, but it is making me seriously question his ability to lead us."

"Why?" Lily said incredulously. "Because he trusts me? Because he thinks I can do something useful?"

Lily expected Scorpius to yell. She expected him to continue arguing with her. Instead, he reached across the space separating them and rested his hands on her lower waist, pulling her toward him. Lily's breathing hitched, and she nearly started trembling. "Don't do this to me," Scorpius breathed, pulling her even closer so that their lower torsos were touching. Scorpius bent his neck so he could rest his forehead on Lily's. "Please, don't put me through this, Lily."

"You can't stop me from going," Lily said quietly.

Scorpius exhaled in frustration, tightening his grip on her waist. "Please, Lily. Please, please, _please…_" he begged. Lily's heart seemed to stutter unevenly in her chest. "I know you think this mission to Nurmengard will help, but it really won't-"

"You volunteered yourself for it," Lily said flatly, pulling away. "Don't give me that." In an instant, she was so mad that she could scream. That was not fair. When Scorpius had volunteered himself for the mission, he had been all for it. But when Lily offered herself up, he had completely changed his opinion, had decided that there was no point in it. "It is not like I'm going in there for a fieldtrip. I am going so we can take the next step to save my parents. Scorpius, I have to do this." Lily could tell that the look on her face was breaking him. As he watched her, his eye were pained.

"Damn it," Scorpius said finally, running his hands over his face and through his hair. "Lily, please. I'm begging you. Let me do it. Let me talk Albus into letting me do it. I don't care that the Death Eaters will know who I am. Please, it is not worth the risk. I can't send you off like that, not knowing whether you will come back or not." To Lily's surprise, his voice had tightened as he spoke.

Hesitantly, Lily stepped forward once more, took Scorpius's hands from where they still gripped at the roots of his hair, and placed them back on her lower waist. His eyes followed her every movement, making Lily pray that she was not being too forward. Slowly, Lily wrapped her arms around Scorpius's neck. "Do you think that I would be okay sending _you _off like that?" she asked, tilting her head so she could look at him straight in the face.

"Lily," he said, but Lily could tell that she had distracted him. His breathing was uneven and he could not take his eyes away from her lips. "Lily, that's not the point…" Scorpius dragged his eyes up to meet her. "Let me go," he said again. "Please, I'll come back. I will, I promise."

"I'm going, regardless," Lily said, shaking her head.

Scorpius was quiet for a long time, just watching her face, reading her emotions. When he realized she wasn't bluffing and that she was being completely serious, he sighed, defeated. "Fine, but I'm going with you."

**A/N:**

**Ah, yes, second chapter if forty-eight hours. I know you guys want more Scorpius-Lily revelation moments, but I have to keep the story going! Sorta boring, this chapter. :/ Sorry! But this chapter is pretty crucial to the next few chapters… So yeah. Just keep that in mind. **

**Your reviews on the last chapter were so great and I love you all! **

**I'm going to sleep.**

**Goodnight! **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Five:**

**Lily Potter II:**

A couple weeks passed since the decision was made that Scorpius and Lily would break into Nurmengard. Albus had been less than happy when he found out Scorpius fully intended on accompanying Lily on her journey there and back. He had more or less kicked and screamed until Lily nearly told him that the trip to Nurmengard was off, that she would not go and neither would Scorpius. But, finally, Scorpius and James managed to talk some sense into him. Albus had not spoken to Lily since then, not even a few words in passing. He refused to speak to her.

It had only taken a few days of Albus's silence for Lily to become sick with sadness. There was a finality to her brother's actions that made her feel like a part of her hand been ripped off. Lily had never been physically ill over a situation until then. She had been sitting in the living room with Leo when the nausea hit her like a tidal wave. Lily briefly debated running up to the bathroom, but it became apparent that it would not wait. She ran from the living room, down the hallway, and to the front door, Leo scampering after her. She flung open the door and promptly vomited on the stoop…

"_Merlin! Are you alright?" At least Lily thought she would have been alone when she walked outside. She looked up, wiping her mouth, to see Hunter pushing himself away from the wall. He looked half alarmed, half guiltily amused. When Lily glared at him, the alarm went away and he grinning. "I'm not cleaning that up," he said, settling himself back up against the wall. _

_Lily clenched her teeth and pulled out her wand, muttering, "_Auguamenti!_" and aiming the stream of water at the vomit, washing it away. A feeling of unease tugged at Lily's stomach. She still should have had the trace on her wand; she was still underage. Lily was comforted by the fact that she had done plenty of magic since leaving the manor and nothing had happened. Lily was secretly suspicious that Hawk had something to do with it. It seemed to be another slice of evidence that he knew he was going to die and that the children would be on their own. _

"_You'd better hope that's not food poisoning," Lily said venomously, knowing perfectly well that it was not food poisoning. "You ate all the same things I did today. If I'm sick, you're sick. And so is everyone else."_

"_You sound pleased at the thought," Hunter mused._

_Lily glared at him._

"_I don't think I've ever seen you in a good mood," he said thoughtfully._

_Lily stared out at the village below the hill, wondering what the muggles were up to. What did muggles do all the time? With everything Lily had gone through in the past weeks, she felt like living a life of tranquility would surely be like prison. Maybe prison would be better than this. Lily grew more bitter. "My brother is a prat," Lily said, her anger seeming to trump the sadness she had felt previously. _

"_Which one?" Hunter said lazily, twirling his wand between his fingers._

"_Albus!" Lily snapped._

"_Ah, yes," Hunter said, dropping his wand. He stared at it remorsefully, but didn't bother to pick it up. Hooking his fingers through the belt loops of his pants, he looked back up at Lily. "He's a bit high on his horse, isn't he?"_

"_That's not it," Lily said, feeling like she was about to explode. "He's not talking to me. Scorpius wants to come with me to Nurmengard. Albus is acting like I'm forcing him to come with me. I tried to talk Scorpius out of it, but I don't think Albus believes me! I don't know what's gotten into him, but I swear to Merlin I am done with it!"_

"_Tell me more about your feelings."_

_It was then that Lily finally saw Hunter was not his usual self, either. "What's wrong?" Lily asked flatly._

"_Dominique," Hunter said, avoiding her gaze. Of course. Of course Dominique would say or do something terrible to Hunter. Lily was suddenly overcome by the sense to protect Hunter. He was… _Hunter. _How could anybody do something to hurt him? Lily wasn't exactly sure how to describe Hunter's personality. He was not endearing like a puppy would be, but he was definitely endearing in a certain sense. _

"_What did she do?" Lily asked sharply._

_Hunter finally looked at her, his eyes wide. "Well… nothing, really. I only heard her talking with my sister."_

"_Christabel?" Lily had not held a full conversation with Christabel since the day Scorpius nearly died. A small wave of guilt settled in Lily's stomach. Christabel had been there for her, and Lily had turned away and started spending time with her brother instead. Christabel was forced to talk to Dominique, who would normally be talking to Rose… Interesting. "Wait. What exactly was Dominique saying to Christabel?" _

_Hunter laughed emotionlessly. "Oh, you know. The usual. How much of a heartthrob your boyfriend is." Lily opened her mouth to say something, shocked, but Hunter held up his hand and began talking very fast. "Don't worry. She was talking about how he hasn't given her the time of day since you started returning his gooey-I'm-so-in-love stares." Lily did not bother to comment on the love remark, but her heart did pound a little harder. "He's a prick, you know that?" Hunter said, his voice harsher than Lily had heard it. "He's heartless for doing that to her. I get that he has some fucked up, weird past… But that doesn't give him the excuse to be cruel. Especially to a girl who did nothing but love him."_

_Lily sighed, nodding. "I know." Lily had avoided thinking about what Scorpius had done to Dominique like it was the plague. "It was wrong. Honestly, Hunter, I think he would be the first to admit it." Hunter stared at her incredulously, as if wondering how in the world she could take his side. "I'm not trying to justify what he did, but…" _

"_But he's in love with you now so you don't care about Dominique's feelings."_

"_I never said that," Lily said quickly. _

"_You implied it." _

_Lily sighed. "You make things so complicated. Look, get to know my family before you start making judgments of who is right and who is wrong. Dominique was never an angel, either. You know my cousin Rose?" Hunter nodded, urging her to continue. "She and Dominique bullied me until I couldn't even leave my room. Dominique told Rose to throw my kitten over this side of a tower. My brothers never stood up for me, but Scorpius did." Lily looked down at Leo, who was clawing idiotically at a bit of peeling paint on the side of the cottage._

"_You're putting him on a pedestal."_

"_You're putting Dominique on a pedestal."_

_Hunter and Lily glared at each other._

_Finally, Hunter sighed. "I'm not going to judge your family, but can I at least say what I see?" He continued before Lily could respond. "I see a family who is hanging on a by a thread. You have two brothers who you would do anything for, but you're closer to Albus than you are to James and you're heartbroken that he has seemed to have written you off. But, Lily, have you ever thought that maybe _he's _heartbroken?" Lily uncomfortably pushed away the thoughts that surfaced from Hunter's implication. "I see the friendship between Dominique and Rose falling apart for reasons that you don't even know. I see Louis taking up space. Sorry, but it's true." Lily shrugged tightly, agreeing. "I see Hugo who, while a little ignorant, is scared to death. Then, I see this mysterious, brooding, complicated, fucked up boy who everyone seems to love so much for reasons unbeknownst to me, but he can't really return the affection to anybody aside from… you."_

_Lily stared at the ground, clenching her teeth._

"_That's what I see," Hunter concluded. "Not judging."_

"_Then what was the whole point of that?" Lily demanded._

"_It relates to the whole pedestal thing. You all seem to hold each other at different ranks. For example, you trust your brothers before you trusted Scorpius because they are your family. But, you would trust Scorpius more than you would trust Dominique because of your feelings for him. But you would trust Dominique before you would trust Rose because she has shown you kindness. You would trust Rose before you would trust Hugo because she's a natural born leader, but you trust Hugo before you would trust Louis because you like Hugo better than you do Louis." Hunter hesitated. "It is really strange. It is like you are all at war with each other, when you are trying to fight a war together._

"_Look, Lily, all I'm saying is that you and your family need to get your priorities straight. Stop fighting against each other. More than likely, at least one of you will be killed before this is all over. If that happened, at least you'd all be able to say you tried your damnedest to keep that person alive."_

Lily was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard a loud crash and a scream from upstairs. Without even thinking, she jumped up from the chair she was sitting on near the island in the kitchen and rushed out the door, the proceeded up the stairs.

It seemed that Lily was the last to arrive at the scene. The view in front of her shocked her, but she supposed she shouldn't really be that surprised. Tension had been growing between Rose and Dominique since they had gotten to the cottage; of course there would have been a confrontation eventually. It appeared that Rose and Dominique had gotten into a quarrel. Rose was standing against the wall, being held back by Scorpius and Albus. Dominique was being helped up by Hunter, who was holding out her hand to get a better look at a cut given to her by a glass lamp Rose had shoved her into.

"Take her outside," McGonagall barked to Scorpius and Albus from the entrance of her bedroom. The two quickly obeyed, dragging Rose down the stairs, Hugo following quickly after them. There was silence until the front door slammed. Lily could hear Rose's muffled screaming from outside, and eventually, she heard Albus and Scorpius yelling back. Lily cringed.

James and Christabel knelt down at the exact same time to clean up the broken lamp, their heads knocking together. Christabel giggled nervously as James turned red and apologized profusely. Lily resisted to urge to roll her eyes before turning back to Dominique and Hunter. "Are you okay?" Lily asked hesitantly, getting shoved against a wall as Louis stalked past her and down the stairs.

"Er… yeah," Dominique said, looking up at Hunter. "I think?"

"You should be fine," he answered, his voice husky. Lily had to hide a smile. "But let's go down to the kitchen a take a look at it, alright?"

Dominique nodded, her face pale. "Okay."

So, like any good friend would, Lily waited for two minutes after they went down to the kitchen and followed after them, leaving behind McGonagall who was shaking her head, muttering to herself.

Lily placed herself right outside the kitchen door and peered in, happy to see that their backs were to the door. "What happened?" Hunter asked quietly as he cleaned the cut on Dominique's hand. Hunter could have easily used magic to clean and heal the cut, but he seemed to want to take his time, probably to impress Dominique. Dominique was not stupid - she could see what Hunter was doing. Lily took it as a good sign that she did not object.

"Rose and I have been fighting," Dominique responded, wincing as Hunter dabbed the cut with a cloth.

"Fighting?" Hunter inquired, taking a new bit of cloth out of his trusty box of potions. Lily grinned, rolling her eyes. Healer Hunter. She supposed it would probably be Healer Belvidere, considering that was his last name.

"Rose lied to us," Dominique said, sighing. "It was a little lie, nothing major, but it was still wrong."

"What did she lie about?" Hunter asked, glancing up at her through his lashes.

Dominique hesitated. "It is really stupid," she finally said. "_Really _stupid. But wrong."

"I got that part," Hunter said, his voice laced with amusement.

"Right," Dominique said nervously, a little breathless. "Well, before we came here, before we were at Hogwarts, Lily got her foot caught in between two rocks." Lily jolted in surprise. Dominique was mad at Rose over something about Lily? "She was pretty cut up," Dominique continued, "but the boys didn't want to magick her out of the rocks, so they pulled her from them. That made her cuts even worse. Rose said that she didn't have any dittany in that bag of hers… But she did."

"How do you know?" Hunter asked, wrapping a bandage around the cut.

"Because," Dominique said quietly, "when Scorpius was hurt, she told Albus what pocket the dittany was in."

"Ah," Hunter said, nodding as he finished up dressing her wound. Lily was stunned. Dominique was genuinely angry that Rose had lied about the dittany. To be honest, Lily hardly cared that Rose had lied. A happy feeling bubbled up in her throat. Dominique, one of her only female cousins, was concerned for Lily's wellbeing. Of course, Lily was no where close to fully trusting Dominique… But finally, _finally _there might be a little acceptance.

"Is it terrible that I made such a big deal out of it?" Dominique asked sheepishly.

"No," Hunter said, shaking he head, hesitantly placing his hand on Dominique's wrist. She watched him, her eyes wide. "I'm sure Lily would be thankful that you were sticking up for her."

"Do you think so?"

"Of course," Hunter said. "She's your cousin."

Lily turned away from the door, smiling. Even when she wasn't there, Hunter was still advocating for the family to get along better. He got the best of both worlds, really. He was able to impress Dominique while also helping Lily out. Lily rolled her eyes, her grin widening when she realized that is exactly what a best friend would do.

**A/N:**

**More of a Lily-Hunter-Friendship chapter than anything else. Lily/Scorpius next chapter, promise!**

**Glad you guys liked the previous chapters and I am SO SO SO thankful for the reviews. Love you guys!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Six:**

**Lily Potter II:**

It was the night before the mission to Nurmengard. Lily had been working very hard for weeks, learning the apparate and how to use defensive spells. It had been hard work, but she had done it. McGonagall had been excellent at helping Lily learn. While the others grew impatient and snappy when Lily did not get the attempt right on the third try, McGonagall was patient and understanding.

Apparating had been very difficult. Scorpius nearly murdered James and Albus when Lily had been splinched. It was not a bad splinch, only a few cuts, but Scorpius was so angry Lily thought he was going to rip his own hair out. Finally, Lily had gotten the hang of it. She had apparated from the hill to the outskirts of town over and over until she got it right. Hunter had insisted that setting off visible fireworks would make the muggles less suspicion, just angry if anything.

Apparating was nothing compared to what Scorpius insisted was crucial for her to know. He had wanted her to learn the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse so that if things really got bad, she would be able to use them to her defense. He had taught her himself - or tried to, at least - not trusting Albus or James to be able to get it right. It had been the night that Lily truly saw him as a descendant of one of the most powerful pureblood families of all time, as a Malfoy…

"_I really don't see why this is necessary," Lily said uncomfortably, eyeing the spider scampering around in a jar placed on the island. _

_Scorpius watched her watch the spider from across the island. "I know," he said. "But if we're separated in Nurmengard for some reason, you need to know how to perform these. Trust me, if a Death Eater comes after you, they will use these curses on you… Only if you don't use it on them first, of course." Lily looked up at him to see his gray eyes twinkling in the dim light of the kitchen. It was dark outside and everyone had gone to sleep about an hour before. _

"_But…" Lily hesitated before continuing in a whisper. "There is a reason these are called the Unforgivable Curses… they're, well… _unforgivable._" _

"_Only if you use them on an innocent," Scorpius said. _

"_Is that an official rule or something you've made up?" Lily asked, more sharply than she intended._

"_Lily," Scorpius sighed, "please. Nobody is going to get hurt." _

"_Only a poor spider who did absolutely nothing to you," Lily snapped. _

"_I'd rather a spider die than you," Scorpius responded just as quickly. _

_Lily was quiet for a long time. "Fine," she said, "but I am not learning the Killing Curse. I will absolutely, positively not kill that spider." Leo meowed at her feet indignantly. "And," Lily continued, "I will not torture the spider repeatedly. Once I get the Cruciatus Curse right, I will stop. I don't care if you think I need more practice." _

"_Right," Scorpius agreed, unscrewing the lid on the jar and tipping it over so the spider fell onto the flat surface of the island. "Now," he said, cutting straight to the point. "The Imperius Curse is a lot easier than the Cruciatus Curse. It takes concentration, but you don't really have to put any real emotion behind it." The spider was running toward the edge of the table. "Watch closely." Scorpius lifted his wand and pointed. "_Imperio!_" _

_Immediately, the spider stopped. Scorpius moved his wand around in a circular motion, and the spider began following it. It was like Scorpius was leading a dog on the leash. With a flick of his wrist, Scorpius instructed the spider to jump, then roll over, then jump again. After a few more tricks, Scorpius lowered his wand. The spider stayed in place, and Lily suspected that in the back of his mind Scorpius still held control of the spider. _

"_See? It's easy," Scorpius said. _

"_Where did you learn to do that?" Lily gasped, her eyes wide. Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I mean, that well, anyway?" _

"_My father taught me. As soon as I was eleven, he taught me," Scorpius responded without making eye contact. "He always thought it was necessary to know it. Your brothers know it too, but that's only because I taught Albus and Albus taught James. They're not nearly as good at it as I am, though." There was no cockiness in his tone. _

"_Do you think he was right?"_

"_My father?" Scorpius asked, staring intently at the spider. This was the first time they had talked about Scorpius's father since the nights that he had his breakdowns. Lily nodded, and though Scorpius was not looking at her to see, he responded. "Of course. If I ever have children, I would teach them." Lily could hear the falsity in his words, and by the way he winced, so could Scorpius._

_Thoughts of Scorpius's babies clouded Lily's thoughts and it took her a few seconds to regain her composure. "He even taught you the… uh…"_

"_The Killing Curse? Yes, he taught me that."_

"_How did you learn to use it?" Lily asked, trying to hide the appalled note in her voice. How could somebody teach an eleven year old boy how to kill something with a literal flick of the wrist? The twitch of a finger? _

"_A spider," Scorpius said, a grim smile on his face. "A bird. And…"_

_Lily's eyes widened. "What else?"_

"_A cat."_

_Lily had the urge to scoop Leo up off the floor. "Why? I mean… how could your father ask you to do that?"_

_Scorpius looked up at her sharply. "He was teaching me. Don't judge him for it."_

"_I'm not," Lily said hastily. "I just can't imagine anybody asking an eleven year old boy to kill a cat."_

"_It was dying anyway," he said softly. "I put her out of her misery." _

"_How many times did it take for you to get it?" Lily asked, trying to sound interested. She wasn't, not in a good way at least. "How many times did you try to kill those animals?"_

"_It took me four times to kill the spider. Two times for the bird. Once for the cat." He had a blank look in his eyes, and Lily longed to put her arms around him. She did not know why. He was basically admitting to murder. Animal murder, but murder nonetheless. "It got easier as I got used to it. He taught me the Killing Curse first, and I did not even need practice to perform the Cruciatus and Imperius. It came naturally… He told me it should have come naturally. I'm a Malfoy, after all. He praised me for living up to my name, like he didn't think I could." The sadness in his voice was evident. _

"_Oh… Oh, Scorpius." Without thinking, Lily took the jar and turned it upside down and set it over the spider. She walked quickly around the table and placed her fingers under his chin so she could turn his head to look at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the spider break out of Scorpius's hold. _

"_Don't pity me," Scorpius said tightly. _

"_I don't," Lily assured him. "But… Oh, Scorpius…" It was disgusting. How could any father, any man, make their son be proud of killing innocent creatures? How could anybody only praise their son for doing things that were considered to be unforgivable?_

"_I respect my father," Scorpius said, putting his arms lightly around Lily's lower waist, as if it came naturally to him, as if it was something he had done everyday of his life and planned on doing it everyday for the rest of his life. "Respected him. Whatever."_

"_But…?" Lily urged him on, hesitantly winding her arms around his neck._

"_I could never do that to my son," Scorpius said fiercely, finally admitting that he thought it was wrong. "Merlin forbid I bring a child into this world - this war- but if I ever did, I could never force him to do something like that." Then, Scorpius was off on a tangent. "It is so wrong! How could a father only ever praise his son for doing something terrible? For killing a cat? That was the only time he ever praised me, but it was pretty half-assed, wasn't it? 'Right, I'm proud of you, but you should have been able to do it anyway because you are a Malfoy.'" Silently, Lily reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "My father was excellent at Occlumency," Scorpius said suddenly. "_Excellent _at it. My Aunt Bellatrix taught him how to use it. The Malfoy and Black families are notorious for being skilled in Occlumency, so he probably would have figured it out on his own even if she hadn't taught him. He never bothered to teach me. Apparently my emotions were too raw, too surfaced." Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to unsee something._

"_He was wrong," Lily said softly. _

_Scorpius made a sound in the back of his throat. "You should have tried telling him that." _

"_Scorpius," Lily said, "you're talented. More talented than any of us. If anyone is going to survive this, it'll be you. You're right, those Unforgivables will probably come in handy at some point… It is a good thing you know them. You are _right._" Lily said, desperately trying to make him see. "But if you are convinced that your emotions are too… raw, as your father said, you are an idiot."_

_Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. Lily felt his shoulders relax under her arms. "How do you do that?" Scorpius asked finally._

"_Do what?" Lily asked, annoyed at the sudden change of subject._

"_Do _that. _Say little things like that. Those small little things that come out of your mouth sometimes in the midst of crisis… I mean, this isn't really a crisis or anything… But how do you do that? How do you keep such a level head?"_

"_I… don't…" Lily stuttered, startled. _

"_You do," Scorpius said, any trace of the previous resentment he expressed over his father gone. There was no amusement in his eyes, either. Just very obvious longing. He dragged his eyes from hers so he could stare at her lips. Lily struggled to keep her breathing even, but that was completely blown with Scorpius's next words. "Oh, Lily… Lily, Lily, Lily… Lily Luna…"_

"_What?" Lily asked, her heart pounding unevenly in her chest. The way he said her name made her feel fluttery, jittery… His voice was like silk surrounding her… Her entire body felt warm and her legs seemed to be shaking-_

Dammit, Lily! _she thought angrily. _Stop it! Stop being so hormonal! This sexual frustration is just… I can't… I can't even…

_The truth was that she couldn't think straight. Her thoughts were so scattered and she could not get them back in one place. He had said her name a thousand times before. She had heard him say it every possible way, with every possible emotion… But this was different from those times before. He had said in a way that made her literally want to… well… have sex with him. _

There! _she thought frantically. _I admitted it, Body! Now go away!

_She was so naïve. So, so naïve. She had never even kissed anybody before, let alone someone like Scorpius! Wait, that was a lie… She had kissed Hunter. Or touched lips with him. Or whatever. But, that was why it made absolutely no sense. How could she want him so badly without even knowing what it was like to really, truly kiss somebody? _

_How had this gone from the Unforgivable Curses to sex? More specifically, the Unforgivable Curses, to murdering, to Scorpius's father, to sex? Lily shuddered inwardly, wondering if her mind was as screwed up as it seemed in that moment. _

_Lily exhaled, dropping her arms from Scorpius's neck. That small act was like ripping off her own leg. "Are you still going to teach me?" she asked, her eyes wide. Any normal person would have taken that as a complete smack in the face, rejection served to them on a silver platter. But Scorpius, being himself, smirked and shook his head. _

"_No," he said. "I'm not going to teach you the Unforgivables if you don't really want to learn them." The next words out of his mouth were so blatantly forward and flirtatious that Lily literally squeaked in surprise. "But I can teach you some other things, if you'd like." With that, he pulled away from her, his hands grazing the small of her back. He walked straight past her and to the door, flashing her one last smile before he disappeared into the dark hallway._

_Lily's knees were shaking so hard that she had to grasp the edge of the island to keep herself from falling. _

Lily blinked, coming back to reality. She was laying on the couch in the dark living room, Hunter snoring on the floor beside her, his arm thrown over his face. Lily had slept in the living room every night after she shared a bed with Scorpius. Due to her hormonal experiences while being so close to Scorpius, she thought it was probably a good idea.

It was not the first time Lily had flashed back to that night. _But I can teach you some other things, if you'd like. _Involuntarily, Lily's hands trailed down to the waistband of her pajama pants. She grasped the fabric of the thin blanket over her, scolding herself. What was she doing, thinking about Scorpius that way? The two of them were raiding Nurmengard the next day! How could she even consider thinking about something like that?

Lily swallowed, hating herself and her lack of tact. They were in the midst of war. How on earth did her body let her get that way during this time? How could she betray herself without even knowing it? Lily clenched her teeth.

The only comfort she had was the fact that Scorpius seemed to be as screwed up as she was in the romance department - after all, he was turned on when she called him an idiot.

**A/N:**

**Lily's inner Tumblr fangirl seemed to come out in this chapter. **

**Alright. You guys got what you wanted. More Scorpius/Lily. More Scorpius Angst. More Horny Lily. **

**NOW. Back to business. I feel like I have to give you guys a pattern of serious chapters and chapters filled with sexual frustration to keep you all interested… haha. Guys. This was literally two chapters within eight hours. I believe this is a record. **

**Alright! I love your reviews and I love you all! **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Deep breaths, alright?" Hunter said softly, resting his hands on Lily's shoulders. She nodded, her eyes wide. They were standing in the upstairs bathroom. It was the morning of the Nurmengard mission and Lily's bravery was dwindling fast. "In and out, okay? Don't panic." Anxiety had taken over the moment she had woken up. She had hurried to the bathroom to change, praying she would not run into Scorpius along the way. It had only take a few minutes for Hunter to see she was gone and burst into the bathroom, completely ignoring the fact that she was in her underwear.

After she hastily threw on clothes - Hunter still present and casually leaning against the wall, examining his nails - before splashing cold water on her face. When that didn't work, she had began to hyperventilate. "Lily! Pull yourself together!" Hunter had snapped at that point, which is how his hands ended up on her shoulders. He shook her roughly, before instructed her to take deep breaths.

"What if I _die?_" she demanded, her brown eyes staring lasers into his blue ones.

"You're not going to die." Even Hunter sounded doubtful. Then he perked up. "You'll have Malfoy with you," he said. "He's not going to let anything happen to you. You're probably safer there with him than we are here." The fact that Scorpius was walking into a death trap with her did not lighten her mood. "Just don't do anything stupid," Hunter continued. "Don't wander off. I know Malfoy is there just to cover you, but try to discreetly follow his lead… He probably knows what he's doing."

"And I don't?" Lily managed to tease, sticking her tongue out at him. The mention of Scorpius _did _calm her, though only a little. It did still not erase the fact that if he was killed, it would be Lily's fault. She tried to sooth herself with the fact that Scorpius was incredibly confident in his abilities to use the Unforgivables. He was a _Malfoy. _It ran in his blood. He was probably better with defensive spells and hexes than any of the Death Eaters in there.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm going to go downstairs. We don't want Scorpius to walk in on us in here and get the wrong idea." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Lily shook her head as he slipped out the door. Almost as soon as Hunter walked out the door, James took his place.

"Hey, Lils," he said, ruffling her hair. He spotted her pale face. "Are you okay? You don't have to do this, you know. Scorpius is well enough to go in alone." James looked horribly anxious, more than Lily did.

"I'll be fine, Jamie," Lily said quietly, avoiding his gaze as she fiddled with things on the counter in front of her. She hadn't called James Jamie since she was three or four years old. When Lily was very small, Albus had been terribly jealous. He was only two when she was born, after all. Lily having been the first and only girl born from Ginny and Harry got quite a bit of special treatment. Ginny and Harry never neglected the boys or treated them badly, but from the time Lily was born to when she was about five, they had coddled her. James never minded it, but Albus had. So, Lily was forced to be closer to James than she was with Albus, and during that time, she had called him Jamie. The nickname stuck, and the majority of the family had called him that for awhile. Ginny still called James Jamie when she was being particularly affectionate, but Lily had stopped years ago. As the children got older, James and Lily grew apart as they separately grew closer to Albus. Albus was the meeting point, it seemed. A lump formed in Lily's throat when she realized this was no longer the case.

"Lily," James said, and the tone in his voice made her look up. His eyes were pained. "You have to be careful, okay?"

"I know," Lily responded. "I'll be okay."

"What if something goes wrong? What if you can't apparate out?"

"I'll be _fine, _James," Lily said again, "trust me. If I can't apparate out, I'll find another way. I'll bet that the Death Eaters took down the wards that prevented the prisoners from apparating. It would be a huge inconvenience for them."

"But if they were to be attacked by the Ministry-"

"The Ministry is being infiltrated by Death Eaters, remember? Surely, there have been people at the Ministry for years preventing a search or attack on Nurmengard. Shroudrouge has thought everything out, trust me, James. He just never expected any of us to figure out his plans."

After a long moment of silence, James nodded. "Stay close to Scorpius," he said gruffly, before ruffling her hair for the second time and ducking out of the room abruptly. Lily clenched her teeth. Everyone seemed to be forgetting the plan. Scorpius was there to cover her, not lead her. The plan was to confuse the Death Eaters if she was caught. Nobody knew what Lily looked like, aside from the few that they had met on their journey.

Lily sighed and splashed water on her face before going downstairs and meeting with the others. During Lily's time in the bathroom, Scorpius and Albus had met in the kitchen and were looking at an old book that contained a map of Nurmengard. McGonagall stood beside them, looking serious. "Keep in mind that the layout could have been changed over the years."

Albus nodded, hardly looking up when Lily came and stood beside Scorpius. Scorpius gave Lily a sidelong glance, a glint of suggestive amusement showing in his eyes. Lily flushed. Ever since the night he had tried to teach her the Unforgivables, there had been a very obvious pleasurable tension between the two. Hunter had happily pointed out that it was called "sexual tension," and that "a blind person can see it between the two of you, Lily, it's that obvious."

"Take a good look at the map, Lily," McGonagall instructed. Lily obeyed, seeing that it was a tower of twisting corridors and staircases that seemed to lead to a main prison cell on the highest floor. Lily nodded, feeling sick again. As if sensing her tension, Scorpius took her hand. At that moment, Hunter walked in, followed closely by Christabel and Dominique. Hunter grinned at her, flipping a chair around and sitting in it backwards.

"We shouldn't waste time," Albus said abruptly, closing the book. "We need to send you off-"

"Wait!" Rose appeared in the doorway. "Wait…" She was looking at Lily. Lily resisted the urge to duck behind a chair. "Daff-" Rose paused. "Lily. Wait. I… er… I want to apologize." Lily realized that Dominique was staring at Rose meaningfully, as if to encourage her. "I _really _want to apologize," Rose corrected. Scorpius quirked an eyebrow, and Lily could see James, Hugo, and Louis standing in the doorway of the living room behind Rose, watching incredulously. Even Albus's jaw had dropped. Hunter was chewing on his lip, trying to hide a smile.

_Might as well milk it, _Lily thought decidedly. "What are you sorry for, Rose? I didn't think you could _ever _do me wrong." The sarcasm in her voice was evident.

Rose offered Lily one of the shit-eating grins she was famous for. Lily had never gotten that grin, because Rose never gave that to anybody unless she was particularly fond of them. It made Lily feel oddly uncomfortable. "Look," Rose said. "I'm really sorry. I lied to you."

"About the dittany?" Lily asked.

Rose faltered. "What? How did you know?"

"I'm not an idiot," Lily snapped, throwing her hands up in the air, realizing then that her fingers had still been laced with Scorpius's. "When Scorpius was injured, you offered him dittany." Of course, Lily was lying. Rose offering Scorpius dittany when he was hurt had completely gone over Lily's head in the midst of the chaos, but Rose didn't know that.

Rose's eyes widened.

"I wouldn't expect anything more from you, Rose," Lily said. Hunter let out a low whistle as Leo trotted into the room, keeping as far away from Rose as possible.

"I guess I deserved that," Rose said, nodding.

"Right."

"Good luck, Lily."

And it was over. Rose's apology scene was over and, unsurprisingly, Lily did not care that Rose had apologized to her. Lily did not care that _finally _Rose mustered up a bit of human. Lily didn't even care if Rose cared. The only bit of emotion Lily felt toward the entire deal was that it took Lily walking into what everyone considered to be a "suicide mission" for Rose to finally decide to be civil. _Bitch, _Lily thought savagely.

"We need to send you off," Albus said, his voice rough. "We can't hold it off all day. The sooner you're there, the sooner it's over." He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Scorpius, mate," he said, turning to the blond boy. He rested his hands lightly on Scorpius's shoulders and gazed intensely into his best friend's eyes, ignoring the fact that the kitchen was completely full of onlookers. "Don't do anything that will cost us your life, do you understand?"

"Why is it…" Scorpius asked, his voice too amused for the situation. It was odd, Lily thought, how angry he had been when Lily volunteered to go alone. He didn't even want her to come with him if he went. Now he was joking and acting like he wasn't about to walk into Death's arms. Albus dropped his hands when he realized Scorpius wasn't taking this as seriously as he was, defeated. Lily felt a pang of pity for her brother. Hunter's words about Albus rang in her mind. _But, Lily, have you ever thought that maybe _he's _heartbroken? _Scorpius continued speaking, a small smile on his face. "Why is that you all seem to think I want to die?"

Lily thought of the scars that marked his skin, shuddering.

…

Scorpius and Lily stood in front of the small cottage, with everyone crowded around them. "The moment you feel like you're in danger," McGonagall was saying, "apparate out of there. Another trip to Nurmengard can be planned. The main concern is your safety. Oh, your parents are going to murder me… They'll regret making me your guardian…"

"Professor," Lily said, "there's a reason they made you our guardian. This is it."

McGonagall smiled sadly at Lily, offering no other words.

"Lily," Hugo said timidly from beside Rose, who had not spoken since the apology in the kitchen. "Don't get hurt, okay?" The childlike tone he had in his voice made Lily wonder if she should be like him, cowering in the corners. She was the youngest out of all of the children, after all.

"Watch out for Leo while I'm gone, okay, Hugo?" Lily asked. Hugo nodded in return.

There was a few more words exchanged between everyone, but nothing too significant. Mostly James insisting that Scorpius bring his sister back safe. Lily smiled. James's demands were almost enough to count for Albus as well. Almost.

Finally, Albus spoke again, his eyes only on Scorpius. "Come back." Lily wondered if she was the only one who saw the passionate blaze in her brother's eyes.

Scorpius nodded. "I will, mate, don't worry. We'll be fast. Back before you know it. We're just going in to scope out the place, remember?" He slipped his hand into Lily's. "Ready?" he asked, and when Lily did not respond, he looked at her. She was staring at Albus, tears in her eyes. He was avoiding her gaze. How could he not say anything to her before she left? This was one of the biggest moments of her life. How could Albus act like she was nothing to him?

Scorpius sighed after a moment, and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side than he probably would have if she hadn't been crying. "Ready?" he asked again. This time, Lily looked away from Albus just as he turned around and nodded. Without another word, Scorpius apparated. It was then that Lily realized she had not asked exactly where in the prison they were apparating to-

"Damn it!" Scorpius swore, stumbling into her. "Is that a _broom?_"

They were standing in a dark room, very close together, so Lily assumed it was also small. "_Lumos!_" she said, and her wand lit up. It appeared that they were in a broom closet. Buckets and rags littered the floor, and a couple of brooms were leaning against the wall. "Good choice," Lily whispered, trying to mask the fact that she was still hurt over Albus's rejection. "Nobody would be hanging around in a broom closet would they?"

"Hey," Scorpius said quietly, "are you okay?"

Lily realized that she had tears streaming down her face. "Yes," she answered quickly. "I'll be fine. We can't worry about it now. I can't let every little thing Albus does affect me this way. He's obviously made his choice."

Scorpius stared into her eyes for a long moment before he nodded, deciding that the mission at hand was more important. They could talk about Albus later. They were in Nurmengard _now. _They had to keep going. If they let themselves get distracted, they could find themselves dead.

Without another word, Scorpius stepped around her swiftly and placed his hand on the doorknob. Slowly, quietly, he twisted and pushed open the door. After a moment, he peered out. "It's clear," he whispered. "Remember, we're here only to scope out the premises. We're not here to do any real work. Even if we come across where your parents are being held captive, we have to let them be."

It fully dawned out Lily that she was literally in the same building as her parents. What if she caught a glimpse of them? How could she stop herself from trying to save them? "Scorpius, I don't think I can do that-"

"You can, Lily," Scorpius responded without hesitation. "Just remember, your father would want us to think logically. This isn't a family outing, this is life or death." Carefully, he pushed the door open farther. "Wand ready?" he asked, taking out his own. Lily nodded, her eyes wide. "Let's go. I'll stay far behind you, but I'll still be able to see you. Gather every bit of information you can before-"

"I _told _you I heard somebody apparate!" a voice shouted down what Lily assumed to be a corridor.

"I don't see anything, Andre," a lazy voice replied. "You're paranoid."

"Fuck," Scorpius swore savagely, seeming to debate closing the door or leaving it cracked. Were the Death Eaters close enough to see the door creep shut? Roughly, he shoved Lily behind him. "Keep your fingers through my belt loop incase we need to apparate," he instructed without taking his eyes off the cracked door, "unless I tell you to run. Do you understand? If we can manage to take these two out, we'll be safe to continue."

They listened as the footsteps grew closer and closer. Lily's heart pounded heavily in her chest, sweat gathering above her brow. She had looped two fingers through Scorpius's belt loop and she was holding on to it so tight that her hand was beginning to ache.

Something hit her and Lily felt so incredibly stupid. _Andre. _

"Scorpius, it's-"

The door swung open and everything happened very fast from that point on. Scorpius and the Death Eater had both yelled _"Crucio!_" as soon as the door flew open. Scorpius had effectively shielded himself and Lily from the curse and the other person had just out of the way. Lily saw with a sinking feeling that the person was exactly who she thought it was. It was the boy who had led the attack on the manor. Andre, the son of Jester Shroudrouge.

The second Death Eater had stood by Andre for a moment, but soon ran for reinforcements.

Andre was laughing manically as Lily and Scorpius stumbled out of the closet and into the stone corridor, Lily struggling to keep hold of Scorpius's belt loop. The manic laughter wasn't the same kind that Scorpius fell into sometimes. There was a sinister tone to it, one that made Lily shiver. "Scorpius Malfoy!" he cried. He was grinning, but his eyes were emotionless, black, never ending holes. His pale skin contrasted oddly with his black hair and eyes, making him look almost inhuman. "You look like your father, do you know that?" he continued speaking.

Scorpius never took his eyes off Andre, never lowered his wand. He looked confident, Lily noticed. Very confident. His body was tensed in way that was not of nervousness, but of building adrenaline. Lily felt safe with him. She knew that together, they'd be able to get out of there safely. "Lucky, I'd say," Scorpius responded. "But, if you look anything like your father, I'd say he's dead ugly."

Andre smiled. "Is that the Potter girl?" he asked, peering around Scorpius. Lily's eyes widened. "It _is. _She's prettier than I thought she'd be." Andre was speaking as if Lily was not even there. "Looks like her mother, doesn't she?"

"Now that we've established who looks like who, can we get on with this? We're on a schedule, Andre."

As if on cue, there was at least a dozen running footsteps echoing through the corridor. There was a moment of tense silence before an alarming amount of Death Eaters rounded the corner, wands at the ready. "Run," Scorpius said, without look at her. "Run and apparate back to the cottage. I'll apparate when I hear you apparate. I'm not leaving until I hear you go." Lily hesitated, and Scorpius jerked his head in her direction. "_Go! _I'll see you back at the cottage. Go on!"

Lily would not have ran if she had not thought that the situation they were in was terrible. If she apparated, Scorpius would apparate. He would be out of there, out of danger. They would be back at the cottage. Though they had not accomplished anything during their visit, they would still have a rough idea of what they were up against. So, Lily ran.

She ran in the opposite direction of the approaching Death Eaters, fully intending on apparating as soon as she got the chance. Then, Lily remembered Snape said that one of his portraits was placed inside the main meeting room in Nurmengard. Would she be able to find it? Surely, they were on one of the main floors… The Death Eaters had not taken long to get them…

Lily had to think fast. She did not want to leave Scorpius in the midst of battle, but she also needed to talk to Snape. _If you find yourself in the Malfoy Manor or Nurmengard on your journey, I hope that you will find one of my portraits to assure me that you are still alive. _Albus had promised that he would find Snape if they were ever in his reach. Lily had to do this, for Albus. Also, maybe Snape could find some way to tell her parents that they were alive and trying to free them.

How was Lily going to fake an apparation crack? As Lily ran, she came up with a plan. Maybe, if Scorpius heard an explosion in the distance he would mistake it for an apparation crack. He would be waiting for it, so it would be easy to apparate as soon as he heard a noise… It was the only choice Lily had. She could easily apparate out of Nurmengard and back into Nurmengard in a few seconds, but Scorpius might hear the second crack… Oh, he was going to be _so _angry…

Finally, Lily gritted her teeth, pointed her wand at nowhere in particular and shouted, "_Protego!_" The sound that spell emitted only sounded a little bit like somebody apparating, but it was the best Lily could do. Lily stopped, waiting anxiously for the sound of Scorpius disapparating. A second passed, two seconds, three seconds… She could hear spells being shouted and screams of anger… Then, something truly beautiful happened. Scorpius disapparated. Lily could only pray that Albus would force Scorpius to stay once he got back to the cottage.

Lily continued running, peering into every archway and entrance that she passed. Nurmengard was a lot cleaner than she thought it would be. The fact that it was an incredibly old prison was evident, but it seemed to be renovated into a posh, almost business-like facility.

Finally, Lily rounded a corner and saw an extravagant entrance leading into a big room. Torches sat on either side of the archway, and through the archway, she could see a large stone slab levitating permanently off the ground, with stone chairs around it. Behind the very head of the table, plastered to the wall, was the portrait of Severus Snape, looking mildly alarmed. His eyes widened a fraction when he saw Lily, wild-eyed, in the archway.

Lily hurried into the meeting room and past the table to stand in front of Snape's portrait. "Lily?" he asked.

Lily was breathless. "I came to let you know that we're still alive," she said, and to her surprise, Snape smiled.

"They sent you alone?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No," she answered quickly, glancing behind her to make sure none of the Death Eaters had decided to come into the meeting room. "I was with Scorpius Malfoy. We came in to see what we are up against. I remembered that you wanted us to let you know if we had paid a visit here or to Malfoy Manor. I tricked him into thinking I apparated."

"Clever," Snape praised. "Was it Albus's decision to send you both here?"

"No, it was my cousin, Rose's. But then Albus agreed with it." Lily was growing more and more anxious by the second. She was beginning to regret choosing not to learn the Unforgivable Curses.

"That was a stupid, rash decision…" Snape said, his voice tinged with malice. "Of course Weasley's daughter would come up with it… Here is a small word of advice, Lily. Never do anything without having a solid plan. You children made a mistake coming here today. In the reign of the Dark Lord, your parents were notorious for jumping into things without a plan. It worked out in the end, but a lot of people were killed in the process."

Lily nodded. "I understand, Professor." She hesitated. "Are my parents all right?"

Snape nodded. "They have not been tortured, but Lily, I fear that it is only a matter of time. It is starting to get out to the public that Harry Potter and his colleagues have gone missing. I know I have already told you, but it is essential that you keep quiet. Stay together and work in silence, but work fast. Shroudrouge's influence is starting to spread faster and faster each day."

"What do we _do?_"

"There is a lot of options, Lily. You and your family need to decide which one is best. You have to leave now. I will see you and your family again soon. Remember what I have told you!"

Lily could hear footsteps. Less than a millisecond later, two Death Eaters rounded stepped through the archway. They spotted her in an instant and dove across the room, wands out. Lily reacted on instinct, apparating just before they reached her. She did not look back at Snape.

Lily felt a horrible tearing sensation in her side and knew instantly she had been splinched. She could feel all her limbs, so she knew that her legs and arms were still intact. But the pain in her side told her that she must have left a large bit of skin and flesh behind. Due to the fact that she was apparating, she could not scream, but the pain in her side seemed to be screaming for her.

Her feet landed on the ground in front of the cottage, and before she could do anything, she was taken by the shoulders and shaken roughly. "WHAT THE _FUCK, _LILY?" Scorpius shouted murderously. "What the _hell!_" Lily had never seen him so angry. Lily felt like she was going to vomit. Her side hurt so much. "How could you do that to me?" he demanded. Lily had a feeling if he had not been holding her arms so firmly, she would be swaying.

"Scorpius, I-" She looked past his shoulder, to see the others watching, wide-eyed and pale. Hunter was eyeing her like he knew something was wrong, then his eyes traveled down to her side where blood was beginning to spread over the fabric of her t-shirt. Hunter got even paler and whispered something to Christabel who nodded seriously and ran into the house.

"Answer me!" Scorpius snapped, getting her attention. There was nothing but pure fury on his face. "Damn it, Lily!" he yelled. A string of very loud swear words left his mouth at that moment. "That trip to Nurmengard was _not _a joke! We had a deal, Lily. You could go if I went with you! I trusted you! I almost got myself killed waiting for you to disapparate and then I get back here only to find _THAT YOU WERE STILL THERE!"_

He kissed her.

Scorpius cupped her face in his hands and crushed his lips to hers. This was very, very different from when Hunter had kissed her. This was full of passion and anticipation. Despite Scorpius's anger, his lips were incredibly soft and gentle on Lily's. She could feel his breathing, heavy and ragged. She felt his mouth moving against hers, his body pressed against hers, his heart beating with hers. Everything was _him. _Everything was _Scorpius. _Lily could not longer feel the pain in her side, only his body, his mouth, his breathing. Clumsily, Lily reached up and tangled her hands in his hair.

She didn't care that everyone was watching. She didn't care that she was probably bleeding out. She didn't care that Albus was probably going to hate her even more now. She didn't care that Louis knew about they kiss she and Hunter had. She didn't care that she was being completely insensitive to Dominique's feelings for Scorpius. She didn't care that she could be killed by Death Eaters at any moment. She didn't care that she had completely bombed the mission to Nurmengard. She didn't _care._ The only thing that mattered was that Scorpius finally had kissed her.

It ended as quickly as it started. Scorpius let go of her and Lily stumbled forward, clutching her side as the pain tore through her body again. Scorpius didn't see because he had spun around and stormed back into the cottage, slamming the door behind him.

Lily collapsed, but was caught by Dominique who had hurried forward at the last second. McGonagall and Hunter were right behind her. Hunter jerked up her shirt, hissing through his teeth. "She's splinched - badly. We shouldn't have let her apparate." Lily looked down to at her side to see a huge, gapping wound in her side. Nausea bubbled up in Lily's stomach and she vomited on the spot, blood spurting from her side due to the contracting muscles in her stomach.

"Damn it," Hunter said, turning to Louis and Hugo. "Clear the island in the kitchen. Wipe it down. We don't have enough time to make it sterile, but do your best." Then he turned to James and Albus. "Get her inside. Get a cloth and put pressure on the wound. When the island is ready, lay her on her back." Finally, he turned back to Lily. "Don't focus on the pain," he said quietly. "I know it hurts. We'll take care of you, I promise." There was a moment of silence before Hunter turned his back on her again, to speak to Rose. "Think you can manage to get the dittany this time?"

At that moment, Albus and James stepped forward, each pulling an arm over her shoulder. The pain was so paralyzing that they had to literally drag her into the house. Once they had laid her down on the island, Albus applied pressure to her wound. James stood beside her, holding her hand. Lily was becoming delirious. The last thing she felt before fell unconscious was Albus taking her other hand.

**A/N:**

**That was a loooong chapter. ****Right. Well. The mission obviously was an epic fail. But it led to a kiss! Yay! This is the longest I've ever gone without a kiss. 27 chapters!**

**Okay. Thoughts? Predictions? Let me know! **

**Thanks for all the reviews. I love you all dearly.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily blinked, her eyelids heavy. She saw a flash of platinum blond before she shut her eyes once again, her mind not processing the fact. It was then that she realized she was unnaturally warm. It was not a bad warm, but a familiar warm. A good warm. The kind of warm she felt when she was intertwined with Scorpius. _A flash of platinum blond. _Lily battled the desire to keep her eyes shut. She was so groggy. When she tried to open her eyes, she felt like she was battling bricks. She sighed heavily and felt arms tighten around her.

Finally, she tried to take in her surroundings. She was sitting up, but she was leaning against something - someone. His arms were around her, firmly but gently. Lily wanted to look at him, but she felt _so_ _heavy. _She tried to lift her arm, but it was heavy as well. She instantly began to panic. She did not have control of her body… There was something wrong with it. What had happened to her? She thought she had just had a wound in her side. Lily whimpered and the arms that were around her tightened further.

"Shh," Scorpius murmured gently. "You're okay. You're safe. Don't try to move."

Lily disobeyed, forcing her eyes open, alarmed at how much effort it took. They were sitting in the bed that Scorpius had used when he was injured. His back was rested on the headboard, which had to be terribly uncomfortable. Lily leaned heavily against his chest, where she had also been sleeping.

Lily could barely tilt her chin up to look at him. His physical state startled her even more than her lack of coordination. He was paler than usual, with dark circles under his eyes. Lily had never seen Scorpius looking so tired. Worry lined his features, but there was more to it… A sort of defeated relief that made Lily wonder how close she had been to dying. "Scorpius…" she managed, but she couldn't say anymore.

"It is the sleeping potion Hunter gave you," Scorpius explained, knowing what she was going to ask. "You… ah… Well, you did not really cope well with the pain. Hunter figured that sleeping through the first forty-eight hours would make it easier for you to deal with it. He said you'd be… rather sluggish when you woke up."

Lily glared at him, as if to say, _You think? _

Scorpius smiled, but was somber almost instantly. "Lily…"

Lily knew he probably felt horrible for yelling at her. A jolt of out of place happiness surged through her body when she realized that she now knew him well enough to predict his feelings and actions. To distract him, she shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "Tell me about… the splinch…"

He looked at her for a long moment, before saying, "You don't remember?"

Lily managed to shake her head. Her ability to move was coming back quickly now, her body waking up. "No," she said hoarsely. Her throat felt like sandpaper, like she had been screaming very loudly for a very long time. "What happened?"

"Oh, thank Merlin," Scorpius said quietly, his body sagging in relief.

"What happened?" Lily asked again, alarmed.

"Well…" Scorpius said hesitantly. "When I say you did not cope well with the pain, I mean you _really _did not cope well with the pain. You were very weak since you had lost so much blood. I assume if I hadn't jostled you around so much when you apparated back here, you would have lost less." Lily opened her mouth the tell Scorpius not to blame himself, but he kept talking. "As I was saying, you were very weak… Hunter had to give you something to grow back the skin and bones and everything in between that you lost. Your lack of blood made the process very long and the intolerance you had for the pain numbing potion made it very painful. They tie together. If you had not lost so much blood, it would have grown back faster and been less painful. Almost painless. You wouldn't have needed the potion."

"I rejected the potion, though?"

Scorpius nodded, a haunted look in his eyes. "Needless to say, that did not help matters. The most we could do was give you a bezoar to fight off the numbing potion." He swallowed. "Hunter was doing everything he could… The bloke started crying half way through, half out of guilt over the pain you were in because of the potion he gave you and half out of the fear that you were going to die right then and there." A flash of a memory flickered in Lily's mind… Hunter, digging through his box of potions with one hand while simultaneously holding his wand up with the shaking other. Frustrated tears were clearly visible streaming down his face, his dark hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

"What were my brothers doing?" Lily asked, surprised that she could still process thoughts. Hunter had cried. Hunter, the one who could rival even Scorpius's continuous commentary, cried. That took a lot, Lily figured. She had been on the brink of death, she realized. She had almost died.

"Hunter needed to focus, and your brothers were yelling at him. He was getting flustered, and he demanded that they get out. Hugo, out of all people, threw James out of the damn kitchen. Christabel went after him, to keep him out. Albus was another story. It took Louis, Rose, Dominique, _and _McGonagall to get him out and keep him out." By now his eyes were clamped shut and he was breathing deeply through his nose. "Lily, it was chaos."

Another bit of memory surfaced in Lily's head. As Hugo, with a surprising gust of strength, used his entire body to shove James out of the kitchen, Albus was yelling louder than she had ever heard in her life. "Do something!" he had screamed wildly as Dominique and Rose took his arms and tried to pulled him away from Lily's side. "She's my baby sister! _Damn it, Belvidere, do something!_" At this point, McGonagall and Louis had stepped forward and helped Rose and Dominique push him out of the kitchen door. His hand was torn forcefully form Lily's.

Lily's eyes searched Scorpius's face. "Where were you?" she asked softly.

"I was with you," he responded, opening his eyes to look at her.

"But when they brought me into the kitchen, you weren't there."

Scorpius nodded, a horrible guilt coloring his features. "Apparently, once they had set you on the island, you passed out for a few seconds. When you came back around, I had just noticed your blood on my shirt from when I…" He took a deep breath. "From when I kissed you. Almost as soon as I saw the blood, the screaming started. Y-you were screaming my name, Lily." Lily's heart pounded unevenly in her chest. She had never once heard Scorpius stutter, had never heard him falter with his speech. The terror that the mere memory brought to him was evident. "You were begging for me. I could hear you _begging _for me, Lily."

"I'm sorry," Lily said, unsure of what else to say.

"No," he said. "No, Lily, I'm sorry. I… I should have been there already. You shouldn't have had to beg for me. I should have already been by your side. I was standing in the upstairs bathroom when I heard you. Even though I ran, I could not get to you fast enough. I knew something was so wrong, but I didn't know what. I should have been the _first _to know. As soon as you apparated back here, I should have made sure you were in one piece. But I didn't. I was selfish."

Tears were blurring Lily's eyes. "No," she said, "no, Scorpius-"

"When I got there, you had your back arched. Blood was everywhere. It was pooling under you." His breathing was shaky. "Lily, I have never seen anything that scared me so much. Hunter was yelling for someone to come and get me, so you'd calm down at least a little bit. It took awhile for you to realize that I was there, but when you did, you cried, begging me to make it stop hurting. Usually, when you cry, I can do something about it. I couldn't do anything about it this time. The one time that you ask me to do something, I can't."

"It's not your fault," Lily said automatically. "I shouldn't have pulled that stunt at Nurmengard-"

"The stunt at Nurmengard is irrelevant now. I don't even care about it. The only thing that matters now is that you are okay, no thanks to me. I am so sorry, Lily," he whispered, pushing a lock of Lily's hair away from her face. "I am so sorry. I will never be able to tell you enough."

Then, the memory of the entire horrific event finally completely branded itself in Lily's mind. She remembered everything so clearly now, but the thing she remembered most was wanting Scorpius. _Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius. _She had been in so much pain, she was convinced she was going to die. For a few seconds she had debated on keeping her mouth shut because she knew what it would do to him to see her that way, but damn it, if she was going to die, she wanted to look at the face that she loved most. She wanted to see Scorpius.

_Lily. Lily. Lily, you just said you loved him. _Lily's eyes widened when she realized that her internal voice was correct. Technically, she had not actually _said _it, but she had thought it. Lily wondered why this was not some huge realization moment, but the answer came to her as quickly as the question. She had always loved Scorpius. Well, not always. The moment she had peered into the music room at the manor, the night she had slept in the armchair by the window for the first time. As she watched his fingers dance across the keys of the piano, as he flowed from tune to tune. _I love him_, she thought. _I am in love with him. _

"You're not allowed to feel bad," Lily said firmly, sliding her hand into his.

"Lily-"

"If you want to make it up to me, don't feel bad. If you are so set on being the one at fault, you will just be fooling yourself because I'm at fault too. I am the one who bombed the mission to Nurmengard, apparated, and got splinched. Honestly, I think I have more to be guilty about than you do."

"Lily-"

"And don't give me some cryptic you'll-never-be-more-guilty-than-I-am, because that's complete bullsh-"

"_Lily._"

"No!" Lily snapped. "It's not your fault that you feel things, Scorpius. It is not your fault that your emotions get in the way sometimes. You absolutely, positively _will not _take the blame for something I caused! You were mad at me, so you left. You had no way of knowing that I could have died. Yes, I'll admit, the blood emitting from my side was a dead giveaway but you weren't looking down-"

"What about the fact that I ruined our first kiss?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Lily said, frustrated, turning her body - it was difficult, but not difficult enough to trump her irritation - so she was straddling his lap. She was relieved to find that she could move her limbs without any difficulty. Scorpius was protesting loudly, telling her to calm down, that'd she'd hurt herself. Lily did not know how she'd hurt herself, considering the skin and flesh and bone had grown back and she was just weak now. Ignoring his objections, Lily placed her hands on either side of his face and leaned in. When her lips finally met his, all of his protests were cut off. It did not take long for him to take control, his hands sliding from her hair and down to the small of her back, gripping the fabric of her shirt once he got there.

Scorpius kissed her slowly, passionately, but was still able to show that he had been waiting for that moment for a very long time. His mouth left hers and trailed down her jawbone, all the way to her neck where he proceeded to kiss her. Lily laughed despite herself, and felt Scorpius's mouth turn up into a smile on her neck.

Their breathing was coming in pants, rough and impatient. It felt so familiar, though it was completely new. It felt right. Lily could not see herself doing this with anybody else beside Scorpius. He was the one she wanted to do this with, wanted to always do this with. When his mouth moved back up to hers, she let him lead her. He had done this before, after all, and he seemed more than willing to teach her. He sucked on her lower lip gently, and Lily nearly groaned. It was like he knew exactly how to please her.

It ended all too fast. Scorpius pulled away, keeping his hands on her lower back. He was breathing raggedly, his eyes raking up and down her body hungrily. "You," he breathed, "are completely insane."

Lily was painfully aware of how close they were near the waist. _What the hell, _Lily thought flatly. She had just experienced the most world shattering kiss, one that surely should have tamed her sexual feelings for awhile, but alas… there they were, smirking at her. "Well," Lily said in a desperate attempt to distract herself, "we can call that our first kiss, if you'd like. I wasn't really fully participating in the last one."

Finally, Scorpius grinned. "I think that is probably a good idea." Carefully, he helped Lily back into the position she had woken up in. Lily was beginning to feel lightheaded and she knew that she had probably overdone it just a little.

"I think I should probably go back to sleep," Lily admitted.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I warned you," he pointed out. "You're not in any state to be kissing somebody like that. Not that I didn't enjoy it," he added, wrapping his arm around her and resting his hand on Lily's upper thigh. Tiredly, Lily nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes. She sighed contentedly. "You should try to sleep, too," Lily said, yawning.

She felt Scorpius laugh silently. "For some reason I don't think I will be able to."

"Why?" Lily asked. "You had to have slept sometime in the past forty-eight hours."

"Five minutes here and there. I wanted to be awake when you woke up."

"You were," Lily said, feeling herself start to drift off into to sleep.

"I was," he agreed, "and I'll still be here when you wake up again."

**A/N:**

**Right. Well. There you go. I don't know if that qualifies as fluff, because those of you who have been with me from the beginning know that I can not write fluff for the life of me. I think the main reason behind this chapter was to show how the children bonded over a truly horrific event. Since Lily was there, but not technically **_**with **_**them, it showed how they reacted with each other. I think that's important because Lily is not the only main character in this story - Hunter, Scorpius, Albus, Dominique are as well, closely followed by the rest. Generally, I just start writing and whichever characters are destined to be the actual, true main characters sort of fall into place. If that makes any sense.**

**Sorry for the wait. I've had hideous bad luck with my computer and charger situation. Thanks for all the reviews! I love you dearly. (;**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Careful, careful," Christabel said, alarmed, lurching forward when Lily stumbled as she tried to pull on a pair of jeans.

"Sorry," Lily said sheepishly, leaning against one of the walls in Christabel's bedroom to steady herself as she did the button. It was the third time she had nearly fallen over while getting dressed. First with her shirt, then with the first leg of the pants, and then the other. It was midmorning now and after much fight on Lily's part, she was able to get out of bed. The children and McGonagall had argued that she was too weak, and secretly, Lily agreed but she was already going stir crazy in the bed by ten o'clock. Scorpius had been the angriest out of everyone, insisting that she stay in bed, but when Lily pointblank refused and stood up, he had stormed out of the room.

"I told you, you shouldn't be standing, let alone trying to _dress _yourself," Hunter said lazily, where he lounged on Christabel's bed. Dominique sat about a foot away from him, her back straight as a board, seeming to be painfully aware of Hunter in such close proximity to her.

Lily ignored him. "Thanks for clothes," she said to Christabel. Christabel grinned at her, her perfect teeth gleaming. Christabel was beautiful, and as much as Lily liked Christabel, she hated the fact that she was so perfect. Lily used to think Dominique was beautiful, but in comparison to Christabel, Dominique was a Lily compared to a Dominique; average. This made Lily feel very awkward and underdeveloped.

"Of course," Christabel said as she disappeared into her closet. "I was getting tired of your usual attire, anyway." _Usual _probably meant Lily's baggy green shirt or her even baggier blue shirt, along with the same pair of jeans that she kept magicking clean. Lily looked down at her borrowed clothes, resisting the urge to wince. The black shirt and stretchy, too-skinny jeans clung to Lily in places that she had no idea could be clung to, emphasizing her chest and hips. For the first time in her life it appeared she had cleavage, due to one of Christabel's overly squishy bras. Christabel had told her that she had used that bra for about a month when she was thirteen, and then she grew out of it. "Clearly," Lily wanted to add, but she had refrained, feeling that she had no place to mock Christabel when Lily herself had never left the bra size she was in now.

"Scorpius will just _adore _it," Hunter drawled, running if fingers through his hair. It seemed that Scorpius and Hunter had bonded while they stood over Lily when she was screaming and writhing in agony. They didn't appear to be friends, only to view each other with respect. Lily uneasily thought of the kiss she shared with Hunter, praying that Louis would keep his mouth shut.

"Scorpius is mad," Lily pointed out.

"Scorpius is _always _mad," Dominique said, and Lily smiled tentatively at her. "Mad at you, anyway," Dominique added, not unkindly, smiling back at Lily.

"Here, put these on," Christabel said, appearing in the doorway of her closet, and handing her a pair of brown leather boots. Lily looked at them mournfully, missing the oxfords she used to where at the manor. "Lily, trust me, they'll look great."

Lily sat on the floor and pulled the boots on over her jeans.

Christabel sighed. "I wish I was as petite as you. It is so much cuter."

Lily resisted the urge to laugh, standing up, grateful when Christabel helped her. "I'm hungry," Lily told them. "Can I eat yet?" she asked Hunter, who debated, and finally nodded. He stood up, offering Dominique his hand to help her stand. Cheeks flaming, Dominique took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. He smiled a smile that Lily noticed he had reserved only for Dominique, dropping her hand a few seconds too late.

They made their way down the stairs, Christabel holding Lily firmly by the elbow. When they walked in the kitchen, they found themselves in the middle of what seemed to be a very intense argument between Albus and Scorpius, who were each sitting at an end of the island. James, Rose, Louis, and Hugo were standing, watching raptly, seeming to wait for someone to start throwing punches. McGonagall was rubbing her temples tiredly, trying to reason with them.

"No," Scorpius was saying tensely, "we can't just barge in like that again. _Especially _to Malfoy Manor."

"We wouldn't be," Albus snapped. "We'll take the time to plan it out. We need to figure out what Shroudrouge plans to do with my parents. We're running out of time, Scorpius. Shroudrouge isn't going to keep them there for a few more weeks, and then let them free. You know what Snape said - they want the wizarding world to lose hope. It is only a matter of time before they're killed. The Ministry is probably trying to mask the fact that Harry Potter and his most trusted cohorts are missing, but it is only so long before the news is leaked. We have to get them out fast."

"I understand that, Albus," Scorpius said, "but I don't think walking straight into Shroudrouge's office and asking him what he plans on doing with them is the best answer-"

"You know that's not what I plan on doing, Scorpius. You're getting too emotionally involved-"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I meanthat you are letting your emotional trauma get in the way."

Lily knew in an instant that things were going to get very bad, very fast. Scorpius's eyes darkened as he grasped the edges of the island. "My 'emotional trauma' is getting in the way? Are you joking with me? If I had let my emotional trauma get in the way, I would have been out of here as soon as I found out my father was killed. You seem to forget that I'm helping you find _your _parents, not mine. Both of my parents are dead. Truthfully, if I felt like I didn't owe it to all of you, I would have left." Lily felt like he had slapped her, and Albus's face showed that he felt something similar. "I would have left the country. I would have gone to America - hell, I would have gone to the bottom of the ocean, because regardless of where we are, we're screwed. Everyone seems to think that Harry Potter is this indestructible, godly being, someone who can save us all. But I know, and you know, and everyone in this house knows that is not true. He's the closest thing to it, but even when he's the closest, he's not even close. Do you truthfully think, us, his children and nieces and nephews with a shoddily thrown together education can take down the man who captured the closest thing to a god?" That was the first time in awhile Lily had heard Scorpius go on a rant that was borderline crazy. It was all oddly contradicting, but it made sense at the same time.

"Leave then," Albus said, white hot fury in his voice. "If you're so convinced we're going to get ourselves killed, leave. You're right. You have no reason to be here, no real backing for your motives. You're just along for the ride. You're probably only here because you hope you'll get killed and it won't appear as if you've committed suicide. The easy way out."

Scorpius grinned, his eyes flashing manically. "I don't take the easy way out."

"You seemed to take the easy way out the night your mother was killed."

A silence as cold as death fell over the kitchen. Scorpius's smile dropped, any emotion - even insanity - left his eyes. The look on Albus's face made it obvious that he knew he had gone too far. Way, way too far. His face paled, and he opened his mouth, presumably to say something, but no words came out. Everyone in the room was watching Scorpius, waiting for him to speak, yell, spontaneously combust, _anything. _But he just stared at Albus emotionlessly. Finally, Lily was able to read something on his face. Betrayal, the worst kind.

After a few more long moments, Scorpius pushed away from the table, the legs of the chair squeaking loudly against the wood floor. After one more loathing look at Albus, he shoved past Lily, Hunter, Dominique, and Christabel who were still blocking the door. There was a moment where Scorpius's eyes locked with Lily's, like it was the first time he noticed she was there, but he kept walking. The front door slammed shortly after.

More silence followed. Finally, Hunter spoke, stepping forward and slapping Albus on the shoulder. "Nice going, mate. Really. Best idea ever, saying that. Really thought that would get you somewhere, didn't you?"

At first, Lily thought when Albus raised his fist that he was going to punch Hunter in the face. But he turned and slammed it repeatedly into the wall. Since the walls were stone, nothing happened. Each punch got harder and more intense, and finally, James had to pull Albus away. "Stop it," he said. "Stop. That's not help anything."

Lily could see that Albus's knuckles were bruised and bloody as James led him out the kitchen door and upstairs. The look in his eyes made it seem like he had just lost the closest thing to him. Maybe he did. Maybe it was his friendship with Scorpius. Telling by the apparation cracks outside, maybe it was Scorpius himself.

…

"Please, Hunter," Lily begged, "please find him. Please go after him. Please."

Lily and Hunter were standing outside, waiting for… what? Scorpius? Was he even going to come back? It was nighttime now. There were no clouds in the sky, so Lily could see the stars very clearly. For once in her life, they did not comfort her. Nothing was going to comfort her until Scorpius came back. She would go and look for him herself, but she knew that she had to wait until she was fully healed. It would do no good for her to apparate after she was just splinched.

"He'll come back," Hunter said confidently. "He had to get out of the house, and he definitely didn't want any of us to follow him."

"You don't know that he'll come back," Lily snapped, frustrated.

"I do," Hunter said, sliding down the wall of the house so he could sit, his knees pulled up to his chest. Lily followed suit. "He'll come back," he repeated. "In his tangent about America and the ocean and Harry Potter the God, he said he only stayed because he owed it to all of you, but that was a major lie. He stayed for you. Probably for Albus as well, but Albus fucked that up, so mainly for you. He's not just going to disappear, _especially _after you were hurt so badly yesterday." He gave her a sidelong glance. "You should be in bed, by the way."

Lily waved him off. "So you _really _think he'll come back?"

Hunter sighed exasperatedly. "Yes."

Lily was hardly comforted, but she decided to change the subject to distract herself. "I heard you cried yesterday," she said, elbowing him.

Hunter avoided her gaze, his cheeks flaming. "Of course I cried. I thought I was going to be the one responsible for killing you. You're my best friend."

A cold breeze rustled their hair. Lily turned her head to face him fully, truly touched. "But it wouldn't have been your fault. You had no way of knowing I wouldn't take the numbing potion well. Which is a damn shame - I don't know if I'll ever have children now if I can't numb the pain."

Hunter grinned, reaching out to ruffle her already windswept hair. "You'd be a terrible mother anyway. I see that cat of yours roaming the house at night, scratching at things and bringing field mice in from outside. Rude, if you ask me. I would have thought you'd teach him better manners."

"Leo is perfect!" Lily said, sticking her tongue out at him. She could see him frolicking on the grassy hill, no doubt searching for mice. "I have raised him just fine, thank you very much. He knows how to fend for himself. Keep in mind, for most of his life he's been on the run from Death Eaters."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Right, still doesn't give him the excuse to tear apart our furniture."

The two sat in silence for awhile, and Lily's earlier dread resurfaced. Scorpius wouldn't leave, would he? But where was he? Where would he have gone to just simply spend the day? They were in a war, for Merlin's sake! Nowhere was safe. Lily wanted to scream, half in anger, half in fright. Scorpius could handle himself, of course, but what if something went wrong? What if-

Suddenly, a crack sounded through the air and Scorpius appeared in the distance, his form only visible because of the moonlight. He stumbled dazedly before steadying himself. Lily and Hunter stood up an instant, waiting for him to start walking their way. But he didn't. He just stood there, his head tilted upward to look at the sky. He began to laugh, stumbling once more, and falling down. He disappeared behind the tall grass.

"Damn it, he's drunk," Hunter said, not sounding surprised at all. He stood up, shaking his head. "Come on, help me lead him back here."

Lily and Hunter hurried blindly through the grass, relying solely on moonlight to find their way. Finally, they reached him. Scorpius looked absolutely terrible. His clothes were stained with dirt and blood, with a black eye on his face to match. His blond hair was even more disheveled than usual. He reeked of alcohol, and if that did not prove their assumption that he was drunk, his dazed laughing did. "Lily," he said joyfully, "Lily, Lily… I'm so glad you found me. I just apparated - disapparated, whatever - out of a fight at a muggle bar in London." Lily and Hunter both groaned, horrified. He had disapparated in front of _muggles? _Oh, they were going to be in so much trouble… "If you hadn't found me, I would be dead."

"Great," Hunter said, deadpan. "He's a stupid drunk. Excellent."

Lily was appalled. "Scorpius, get up," she said quickly. "We're outside of the wards; the muggles will be suspicion."

"Muggles. I _love _muggles. Never spent much time with them, but I don't know why… They were so nice. Until one decided to punch me. Cheeky bastard," Scorpius slurred, not objecting when Hunter grabbed his arm and pulled him up. After slinging Scorpius's arm around his shoulder, Hunter began to pull the belligerent Scorpius back toward the cottage.

Lily hurried forward to help, but Hunter stopped her. "You can hardly walk without getting dizzy. Let me take care of this. You can open the door."

Five minutes later, Hunter and Lily were huddled around Scorpius in the kitchen, who was sitting on a stool Hunter had conjured. Scorpius was practically drooling, holding up his arm and watching it flop lifelessly back to his side. "Astonishing," he kept saying, "truly astonishing…"

"Who would have thought that the dark, brooding one would be so idiotic while intoxicated… I would have expected violent, even ridiculously horny… Not _this,_" Hunter muttered, annoyed, as he searched for bandages. "He's like a huge damned inconvenience… The bloke won't even take dittany…"

"There's other potions you can use-" Lily started, ashamed that she was amused.

"The black eye will go away," Hunter said, "as will the bloody knuckles. I'm not going to waste expensive potions on minor injuries. It is not like he's not used to blood." He seemed to realize what he said as soon as the words left his mouth, his face paling as he looked up at Lily. "Lil-"

"Do _not _joke about that," she said tensely, all amusement gone. Hunter knew about Scorpius's scars, he had seen them when he had saved Scorpius from the poison-doused glass. "I'm going to forget you said it this time, but don't bring it up again. It's not funny."

"Yeah," Scorpius added unhelpfully, "not funny."

"Shut up," Lily snapped at him. He smiled at her, his eyes raking up and down her body. Lily remembered that she was wearing some of Christabel's clothes, her cleavage still clearly visible. Scorpius's eyes widening, as he broke out in a sloppy half-smile, laughing.

"Look at that," he said, his eyes not leaving her breasts. "Look at _that._"

Lily didn't like this Scorpius. He had been funny at first, but it was quickly getting old. This wasn't the Scorpius she knew. Thoughtful, and honest, and usually kind… This Scorpius was dumb and vulgar, and _completely_ unnecessary. She understood that the fight he had with Albus was truly life-changing - possibly life-ruining - but that did not give him an excuse to do this to himself, to everyone. He could have blown their cover or led a Death Eater back to the cottage. Worst of all, he had disapparated in front of a group of muggles. Surely, this would get back to the Ministry and the Death Eaters who had infiltrated it would know of at least one of their whereabouts…

"Eyes up here, mate," Hunter said, his annoyance escalating. "Not tonight."

Lily tugged the neckline of her shirt up, feeling sort of empty. She wanted Scorpius to look at her, but not while he was like this. The hungry look in his eyes, like she was some sort of prey, did not make her want to kiss him or anything more than that. Actually, it made her want to leave. She didn't want to be around him when he was like his.

Lily felt like she was being petty. Deep down, she was so confused. Normally, his eyes were always on her face, which was probably a good thing, but if he could kiss her the way he did the night before, surely he would have felt something else… below the waist? If he wasn't intoxicated and he took the time to look at her in the shirt she was wearing, would he still have the hungry-animal air to him or would it be different? Would it be the Scorpius she knew? Would he be kind and patient with her?

Would he even feel sexually attracted to her if he wasn't drunk?

After another fifteen minutes, Hunter started cleaning up his first-aid supplies. Lily decided to take Scorpius upstairs. Hunter had asked if she was okay to go with him alone, and she had nodded. Even drunk, she knew, Scorpius would not lay a hand on her, no matter how badly he wanted to.

He stumbled up the stairs, nearly tripping three times. Once they were finally in the spare bedroom that they seemed to share - when was somebody going to call them out on _that? _-Lily shoved Scorpius against the wall. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he soon seemed to find it funny. He began to laugh.

Lily grabbed his face with one hand, making him look at her. His eyes were blank, though his laughing still raged on. "If you ever leave and scare me like you did today again, Scorpius Malfoy, I swear to Merlin, I will never speak to you again. Oh, and if you start talking gibberish about my breasts while your intoxicated ever again, I will personally set my brothers on you, do you understand?"

He laughed harder. Lily promptly slapped him across the face.

That shut him up. Without another word, Lily turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

**A/N:**

**Ooooh. Is this foreshadowing for a sex talk between them? (; **

**And more drama ensues, blah blah blah… Just the normal stuff, haha. Albus was pretty cold. Any thoughts on whether he and Scorpius will make up? If they do, how do you think it'll happen? If they don't, what do you think will happen? **

**Yeah, so I got this really touching review that seriously made me cry. It was by someone who wasn't logged in, so I couldn't respond… I believe it was sighed by somebody by the name of RHS. Thank you so much, that really meant a lot. I actually wrote it down in this scrapbook/journal thing that I have because it meant so much. So thank you. **

**Okay, until next time guys! Thanks for reviewing, it is always welcomed!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;) **


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily could hear Scorpius groan from all the way downstairs. She looked down at a disheveled, hardly-awake Hunter who was laying on the floor beside the couch she had slept on, exchanging a knowing look with him. Scorpius groaned again, more loudly this time. He had woken up to discover that he had a severe hangover, it seemed. There was a scuffling of footsteps and the slamming of a door, presumably the bathroom door, and the sound of running water that managed to just disguise the sound of Scorpius's retching.

Silence followed, but was soon interrupted by the clicking of heels on the wood floor. Lily and Hunter stared at each other, eyes wide. The heeled person rapped on the door briskly. "Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said, her stern tone obvious. "Meet me in the kitchen once you are finished. I would like to have a word with you." She did not wait for a response, instead continued down the hallway. Moments later, Lily and Hunter could see McGonagall disappear through the doorway of the kitchen. Not long after, they watched Scorpius walk solemnly in after her.

The kitchen door was magicked to slam shut, but that did no good; McGonagall's shouts were heard throughout the house. "You endangered your life and everyone else's! Do you understand what could have happened if you led a Death Eater back here?" There was a round of what sounded like agonized indistinguishable mumbling on Scorpius's part, followed closely by McGonagall's voice once again. "Feel lucky that your little fieldtrip didn't cause us more trouble. Think twice before you do that again, do you understand? Harry Potter will be livid with me for…"

The lecturing continued for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Scorpius slouched out of the kitchen, looking exhausted. He saw Hunter and Lily watching him from the living room and rubbed his eyes with his middle finger and thumb before joining them. He sat beside Lily on the couch she was still placed at. He cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said hoarsely.

Lily, Hunter, and Scorpius stared at each other, the awkwardness over the situation from last night suddenly settling over them. Sighing, Hunter stood, shaking his out of his eyes. "I'll let you two at it, then," he said gauchely before wandering out of the living room. Lily watched him go before turning back to Scorpius.

"You were… really drunk," she said bluntly.

"I know." Scorpius was very pale and very tired looking. Dirt still covered his clothing. His black eye looked worse than it did the night before, making his perfectly sculpted face flawed. Lily pushed away any thoughts of attractive battle injuries, trying to focus solely on the fact that they were having a serious conversation.

"Do you remember what happened at all?"

"Not really, no," Scorpius responded, dropping his head into his hands. His voice was muffled when he spoke again. "I could have just been really drunk, or I could have been… _dissociating._" Telling by the set of his shoulders, he hated the word. Absolutely, positively loathed it. "Telling by my hangover, I was probably really drunk while dissociating. If I knew what I was doing, I would have never gone into Muggle London to get that drunk. It's not an excuse, though, I know."

"So… You don't remember anything?" Lily asked again.

"I must have stopped dissociating when you slapped me," he said flatly, looking up at her. "That's all I remember. Your hand cracking across my face." He grinned emotionlessly. "What did I do to deserve that?"

Lily hated herself for feeling a twinge of disappointment. He didn't remember the clothes she was wearing. If he was dissociating, of course he wouldn't remember. Plus, Lily should not have been upset at all, considering she hated the way he was acting about it the night before. "Nothing," Lily said quietly. "You didn't do anything."

"You wouldn't have slapped me if I hadn't done something wrong," he pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Lily said, looking down at the pajamas she had changed into the night before, cursing herself for not keeping Christabel's clothes on. She was still wearing the bra, but its affects were swallowed up the pajama shirt. Lily was very curious to see whether Scorpius drunken state is what made him notice her body. Would he notice her if he was sober? Lily decided to pay Christabel a visit later to borrow more clothes…

"I want to know what I said to you, Lily," Scorpius said, frustrated. "Being drunk and not fully there does not give me an excuse to offend you or anybody else."

"You didn't do anything," Lily said, ignoring Scorpius's very good point of if he hadn't done anything, she wouldn't have slapped him. "Go clean yourself up," she instructed. "You look like you just rolled out of a ditch. Plus, you'll have some explaining to do. The others won't be so happy that you nearly blew our cover."

…

Scorpius had explained to everyone - while pointedly ignoring Albus's gaze - what had happened and how he had messed up, leaving out the dissociating part. Telling by Albus's horrified look, Lily could tell that he knew exactly what had happened to Scorpius the night before. Albus had been the one to discover that Scorpius dissociated, so of course he knew what had happened. The fact that Albus was the one to have caused it did not seem to make him feel any better.

"Scorpius, are you-" Albus began as the children and McGonagall filtered out of the kitchen after Scorpius's explanation and apology. Scorpius brushed passed him, ignoring him completely. Albus did not try to pursue him any further. The wound was still fresh and painful. It would take a long time for it to start close.

After Scorpius's spiel, Lily followed Christabel up to her bedroom. She felt horribly guilty when practically she hid behind the staircase to avoid talking to Scorpius. She didn't know what had gotten into her. Lily was normally not one to avoid people. Though she didn't normally confront the problem head on, she also didn't completely ignore it. Why didn't she just ask Scorpius? She didn't want to make a fool of herself, that was why. What if Scorpius laughed in her face? What if he thought she was joking? All of these fears were completely irrational, Lily knew that much, but still…

"Christabel," she said when they were standing in the colorful room, full of floral print and old metal furniture, "I need your help."

Christabel nodded solemnly, apparently knowing what Lily was there for. "Do you want more clothes?"

"Er… yes," Lily said hesitantly, sitting down on the bed. Lily felt bad asking for more clothes, but by the way Christabel practically flew to the closet and started throwing possible garments out onto the floor behind her, Lily could tell that she didn't mind. Dominique slid into the room and took a seat beside Lily, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "I need more clothes," Lily explained sheepishly.

"Ah," Dominique said, nodding. They girls were quiet for a few moments. "What happened last night?" Dominique asked, her voice laced with amusement. "Scorpius's apology was rather vague. The only thing I got out of it is that he apparated in front of muggles and could have put us into even more mortal peril. What happened when he got home?"

Lily ran a hand through her hair, exhaling loudly. "He was really drunk," Lily said.

To her surprise, Dominique giggled. "He was? Oh, he's pitiful when he's drunk, is he not?"

"You've… you've seen him drunk?" Lily asked, surprised when she realized she was not angry… only amused and grateful. Maybe Dominique could give her some advice. _Who would have thought? _Lily thought to herself. _I'm actually considering asking Dominique for advice._

"Twice. Both times he came stumbling into my room at the manor in the middle of the night, completely out of his mind. He's actually kind of funny, but it's a little disconcerting when he tells you he didn't remember _anything _the next morning. I've been drunk before," Dominique continued, "to the point where I could hardly remember anything, but never to the point where I had absolutely no recollection, you know?"

Lily uneasily thought of Scorpius's tendency to dissociate under desperate circumstances. "When he came to you, did he ever… you know…" Lily wondered how she was going to put this. She had to remind herself that this was Dominique. It was hard to make Dominique uncomfortable. "Was he ever really horny?"

Dominique raised her eyebrows. "No," she said, "he was always just really out of it."

_Oh, sweet mother of Merlin, _Lily thought, rubbing her temples. Dominique was no help at all.

"I found it!" Christabel said finally, emerging from the closet, grasping two garments of clothing. "This is perfect for impressing Scorpius." Lily flushed. How the hell could Christabel tell she was trying to impress Scorpius? "Don't give me that look, Lily. I know why you're so interested in my clothes. You want Scorpius to actually _look_ at you." Christabel wriggled her eyebrows, smiling suggestively. Dominique laughed, rolling her eyes as Lily's flush deepened. "Anyway, he seems sort of like the dirty librarian type so-"

"The _what?_" Lily asked, appalled.

"Dirty librarian, Lily," Christabel said, nodding as she held up the clothing to examine them once more. "Definitely, he's probably totally into all of that kinky shit."

"Did somebody say 'kinky'?" Hunter slipped through the doorway, his usual lazy smile on his face. He flopped down on the bed beside Dominique, winking at her.

"Oh, what the hell," Lily muttered as Dominique burst out into uncontrollable giggles, her face flaming.

"Lily's trying to impress Scorpius," Christabel informed Hunter.

"What else is new?" he responded, reaching up and taking a lock of Dominique's hair that laid delicately on her back and twirling it between his fingers. He looked at Lily. "You had better change into it fast, he's looking for you."

"Where is he?" Lily asked as Christabel pulled her from the bed, forcefully tugged Lily's shirt off, and yanked the other one on. After stuffing the second article of clothing into her hands, Christabel returned to the closet, apparently trusting Lily enough to dress herself now.

"Talking with Rose," Hunter said. Lily saw Dominique stiffen out of the corner of her eye. At this, Hunter sat up so he was sitting right next to her, their legs touching. Dominique relaxed slightly, glancing at him and giving him an appreciative smile.

Lily pulled on the way-too-tight jeans and looked at herself in the full length mirror. She didn't know what Christabel was talking about. How did this constitute as a dirty librarian? She was wearing an olive green shirt that revealed too much cleavage and even a small amount of midriff. The jeans hugged her legs like skin, making it nearly impossible to move. "Christabel, I look like a whore."

Dominique snorted from the bed. "No, you don't. Trust me."

"Scorpius will jump all over that," Hunter said, his brotherly input definitely not welcome.

Christabel appeared in the doorway of the closet once again and handed Lily a pair of brown leather flats. "You don't wear glasses, do you?" she asked as Lily put on the shoes. "Damn," she said, "that would really top it all off."

"Christabel, I don't know-"

"Lily? Can I talk to you for a second?" Scorpius knocked on the door and opened it. The expression on his face was very serious. Lily's cheeks were flaming. She had been avoiding him all day and sort of felt obligated to say something along the lines of, "You found me!" She refrained, exchanged one last look with Christabel, who smiled encouragingly, and followed Scorpius out the door.

The minute the door was closed, Scorpius pushed her against the wall, as if to trap her there. His eyes traveled down to her chest, but he almost immediately looked back into her eyes. His cheeks were tinged pink. "What are you wearing?" he asked, confused. "Look, it doesn't even matter, I just want to know if I've done something wrong. Are you mad at me?"

"Er…"

"Lily, seriously," he said, "whatever I said to you last night, I probably didn't mean it. I'm really sorry if I offended you, but you have to know that I was not myself. I know it's not an excuse, but… Well, after everything with Albus, I couldn't help it. I left the kitchen after speaking with him and I went blank. So if I've ruined whatever is between us, I am so-"

"Do you ever look at me?" Lily interrupted suddenly, frustrated to the point of no return.

"I… what?" Scorpius's confusion was as clear as day. "I'm looking at you right now-"

"No," Lily said, "I mean, do you ever _look _at me?" She gestured to her body.

Finally, Scorpius understood. Ironically, he looked away from her, down the hallway. "Oh. Well, of course. I… Yeah, I do."

"Really?" Lily asked more sharply than she intended. "Because last night you were blathering on about how excellent my breasts looked and I'm a little bit concerned because the only time I've ever caught you looking at me was then - absolutely, positively _piss _drunk."

"Lily-"

She was a complete raging mess now. "Do you know what I have to deal with everyday because of how attracted I am to you? All day, I have to look at you - your face, your body, everything. I have to sit and watch, desperately… desperately… _wanting you_, and you hardly give anything but my face a second glance! I'm flattered that you like my face so much, but Scorpius, what about the rest of me?" She was panting heavily, completely aware of how much of a psychotic, obsessed girl she sounded like, but didn't care. "I am in physical pain over you all day. I… Damn it, Scorpius!"

He was staring at her straight in the face now, his eyes huge. "Lily…"

"Now you think I'm crazy," she babbled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Great. Just brilliant. I blew it. I completely blew it."

Scorpius sighed. "Lily. Listen to me."

She glared up at him. "Oh, I'm all ears."

"I…" He took a deep breath, his gray eyes locked on her brown ones. "Lily, I look at you all the time. When you're walking away, I look at you. When you aren't looking, I look at you. When you're sleeping, when your laughing, when you're rambling on in that incessant way of yours… Lily, you're so beautiful that it hurts me."

"That doesn't tell me anything," Lily said stubbornly, but her cheeks had colored and her heart had skipped a beat. "I know you look at me. But do you _look _at me?"

"Lily… I…" Scorpius took another deep breath, grasping at the roots of his hair, seeming to brace himself. "Lily, when you say that I cause you physical pain all day, I know exactly where you're coming from. On more than one occasion, I've had to… er… well…" He looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable, his normally pale face redder than Lily had ever seen it. "On more than one occasion," he started again, "I've had to go to the bathroom to… well… take care of it."

"What do you- Oh." Lily's eyes widened. "_Oh._" She was silent for a moment, as Scorpius watched her, gauging her reaction. "You mean… you… er…" Without meaning to, she glanced down at his crotch.

"Yeah," Scorpius said hastily. "You don't have to say it."

Then, Lily was giggling. She was giggling so hard that she had to rest her hands on Scorpius's shoulders to keep herself from sliding down the wall. Scorpius was staring at her blankly. Lily wiped tears away from her eyes. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so relieved."

"I can't believe I told you that," he muttered, almost to himself.

Without thinking, Lily stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. Scorpius melted into the kiss, taking control instantly, seeming glad that he had a distraction from the conversation they just had. Lily would never get tired of kissing him, having him suck on her lower lip, having his tongue in her mouth. His thumbs hooked into the back belt loops of her pants, pulling her close, particularly at the pelvis area.

She could feel every part of him, she realized, as she deepened the kiss. Everything was Scorpius, everything was _him_-

They broke apart when several apparation cracks sounded from outside, followed by the explosive sounds of spells being cast. The sound of the front door busting off its hinges was the loudest.

They had been found.

**A/N:**

**Oh Jesus. I've wanted to write that scene for a REALLY long time. Lily basically lost her shit, Tumblr-fangirled out. You know. Probably how all of us act toward our favorite fictional characters/actors/etc…haha.**

**But now it's time to leave the cottage, so we'll see what happens.**

**There were a ton of really touching reviews on the last chapter. I love you guys so much and I'm glad you have so much faith in me to give you a good story. You guys probably think that I just write only when I think about it, when I feel like it. You probably think I don't really give you guys a second thought. But that's completely untrue. I think about you guys all the time. I think about what you want and what you expect from me. I just want to let you all know that I am sincerely grateful for all of you, and if by the off chance - it may be my passion, but I don't know how confident I am about it; not fishing for compliments, just stating the truth - that I ever become a published author, I promise I will not forget where I started and who encouraged me first. **

_**Thank you SO much. **_

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-One:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Scorpius's head snapped up, and for what seemed like a very long moment in time he and Lily stared in horror at where the stairs began to descend. Everything happened very fast from that point on. Christabel, Dominique, and Hunter piled out of Christabel's bedroom. The look on Scorpius and Lily's faces must have confirmed what they feared the noise was - Death Eaters were invading.

McGonagall came out her bedroom, completely ready for battle. She pushed past them, not even acknowledging the fact that they all stood there. Scorpius swore, pulling out his wand and followed her down the stairs. Lily was on his heels and was momentarily surprised when he didn't tell her to wait upstairs. Apparently, he had decided she was a fit warrior. Lily was incredibly glad to have that much respect from Scorpius.

Hunter followed closely behind Lily, his fingers laced through Dominique's, his other hand holding his wand in front of him. "Damn it," Lily muttered, turning quickly and hurrying back up the stairs. So much for getting respect from Scorpius - she forgot her wand in Christabel's room. Hunter and Scorpius both asked her if she wanted one of them to go with her, but she had declined. It would only take a minute.

When she got back into the room, it was easy to find it. It was sitting on top of her pajamas that she had thrown on the floor when she was changing. She picked it up quickly, ready to head back down the stairs. The sound of spells being screamed downstairs was evident, some voices familiar, others not.

Just as she was in the door way, out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw the boots that she had worn yesterday. She couldn't fight in flats. After a quick debate with herself, she tugged the boots on over her jeans, nearly tripping over her own feet. She was walking quickly toward the door once more-

The window embedded in the wall across from the door exploded, sending shards of glass everywhere. Lily instantly hit the floor, avoiding the worst of it. The worst of her injuries was a particularly bad cut on her temple. That was the least of her concerns, though. Two masked Death Eaters climbed through the window, saw her standing there, and guffawed loudly.

"It's the one who got away from us at the headquarters," a deep gravelly guffawed from behind the mask on the bigger Death Eater, raising his wand and pointing it directly at Lily.

Lily's eyes widened.

The smaller Death Eater with a nasally voice that sent chills down Lily's spine spoke. "Should we kill her or bring her back to the master?" he asked the other. Lily would have ran, but she stood paralyzed under the point of the larger Death Eater's wand. "Or do you think we should take her downstairs to Andre to finish her off in front of all of her friends?"

Lily nearly gasped. Andre was downstairs?

Thinking fast, Lily shouted, "_STUPEFY!_" In the direction of the smaller Death Eater, but pointed her wand at the larger one. This confused the smaller one, so she was quickly able to yell "_Petrificus Totalus!_" with her wand actually pointed at him this time. She was just about to turn and run out the door when three more Death Eaters climbed through the window.

She was in so much trouble, she knew it in that instant. If she didn't die, she'd be severely injured by the end of all of this. Or so she thought. Suddenly, somebody appeared behind her in the door. She expected it to be Scorpius or Hunter, even Albus or James, but… it was Hugo. His blue eyes, so much like Rose's, eyes were blazing in a way she had never seen them. He raised his wand at one of the Death Eaters and yelled, "_Confundo!_"

Following suit, Lily shouted, "_Stupefy!_" at one of the others, and Hugo yelled, "_Expelliarmus!_" at another, catching his wand, then proceeding to yell, "_Colloshoo!_" which stuck the third Death Eater's shoes to the floor, leaving him trapped.

Lily and Hugo ran without saying a word to each other , desperate to get downstairs and see if the others were still intact. The downstairs portion of the cottage was torn completely to shreds. Full pieces of furniture had been blown up, burn spots marred the floor, Death Eater's bodies made it hard to walk… Lily and Hugo hurried down the hallway, passing the kitchen that held so many memories, and out the front door. They were met by a battle in full swing.

Thankfully, everyone on their side was still alive and fighting, but Lily had a horrible feeling that it was only a matter of time. Scorpius, near the bottom of the hill, was up against three Death Eaters, and though he was doing just fine on his own, Lily ran to help him. On her way to him, she saw Albus and James beside each other, fighting. Lily had watched Albus and Scorpius fight together; their fighting had a sort of grace, a synchronization that was hard to explain. They could expect what the other was going to do - they were each other's seconds. When Albus and James fought together, they were still good, but you could tell by the strained expression on Albus's face that it wasn't the same as it was when he fought with Scorpius.

Dominique and Rose were nowhere in sight, but Lily could hear them screaming spells. Christabel fought beside Louis, who clearly had no clue what he was doing. He was clumsily yelling hexes, all of them only working halfway. Hunter and McGonagall were near the side of the house, talking frantically with each other, pointing their wands at an old can. Lily was relieved when she realized they were making a portkey. Apparating was not a good escape route - nobody knew exactly where they were going, since they had not decided on a designated meeting spot. The portkey would allow them to meet in a safe place and take it from there.

Finally, Lily reached Scorpius. "Are you okay?" she shouted over the Death Eaters spells and curses.

"Yeah - _Stupefy! _-are you?"

"Yes! _Petrificus Totalus!_"

"What - damn it, _Confundo! _-took you so long?"

"I was attacked, but I'm fine," she said hastily. "_Expelliarmus!_"

The two got wrapped up in battle at that point, but Lily could tell that Scorpius was not completely into it. Every chance he got, he looked up near the top of the hill where Albus and James were still struggling to stay afloat in the fight. Every time Albus nearly took a hit, Scorpius would wince as if it was himself.

Finally, they were able to take down the three Death Eaters. Lily was just wondering who Andre was and when he would reveal himself when a commotion happened on top of the hill. Lily could hear exclamations of horror from her family and friends. Scorpius, as if sensing something was dreadfully wrong, booked it up the hill, hastily making sure Lily was following behind him.

"_ALBUS!_" Scorpius shouted, his voice cracking in sheer terror when he saw what was happening.

Ice cold fear rippled through Lily's body. Andre, his dark hair falling into his eyes, held Albus by the back of his shirt, his wand jabbing into his temple. Everyone stood around, watching, waiting… What could they do? If one of them shot a spell, Andre would kill Albus instantly. It was clear on Albus's face that he knew this as well. Though his face was pale, Lily could see that in his eyes, Albus was calculating a plan.

Scorpius grabbed Lily by the shirt, pulling her to his side so he could lean down and whisper in her ear. "Andre isn't touching him," he said, his voice barely a breath. "He's holding him by the shirt. The only thing touching him is the wand. If Albus moves his head, and he disapparates fast enough, he can escape." Lily looked up at Scorpius, her eyes wide. "I just hope that he's thinking the same thing I am."

Lily could only hope as well, and so could everyone else. Know Albus, he would come to the conclusion eventually, but what if it was too late? Rose was crying, leaning heavily on Dominique, who seemed to have set aside the differences that had formed between the girls. Christabel, who was beside James now, held his hand firmly. Louis seemed unsure of what was going on, only that something bad was happening. Hugo was watching, watching as his role model was held at wandpoint…

Lily could feel Scorpius's shaking beside her as he muttered, "Come on, Albus… Come on, come on…"

Then, something truly amazing happened.

Albus jerked his head away from the wand and disapparated, as if Scorpius's silent pleads had reached him. The moment Albus was gone, a blast of green light shot from Andre's wand. He roared in anger when he found that what he shot at was Albus's dark green shirt, hanging limply in his hand. Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief was short lived. Soon, green lights from Killing Curses were zooming wildly all around.

Scorpius threw himself on top of Lily, throwing up a shield charm. As soon as Lily hit the ground, Lily saw Hunter dashing across the top of the hill, the portkey held in his hand. He was completely unshielded. Lily heart seemed to fly up to her throat. She desperately wriggled out from beneath Scorpius, who yelled for her to stay where she was. In an instant, she was running to meet Hunter, trying to shield herself at the same time.

"Lily," he said when they met each other in the middle, only meters away from a rampaging Andre. He seemed to be in a blind rage, completely unaware of what was going on - his main intent was to kill, and that was what he was going to do. "Lily, the portkey is going to leave in a minute," he panted, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. "Dominique and Louis just went to get Rose's bag from the house - it has all of the information your father left for Albus, as well as a few potions that we might need."

"Where's Rose?" Lily asked.

"She went to see if she could find Albus - to see where he went - or send him a patronus - whatever," he said hastily. As if on cue, Lily saw Rose disapparate. She was grateful that Rose was doing something useful, even if that meant she got an easy way out of the battle. "But, the portkey is going to leave in a minute and Dominique and Louis need to hurry. I need to keep guard of the portkey and let the others know what is going to happen. Can you go make sure that they're back in time?"

Without answering, Lily ran in the direction of the cottage to find Dominique and Louis. Luckily, she met them halfway down the downstairs hallway. "Do you have the bag?" she asked, her panic seeming to consume her at this point. There was so much pressure to get back to the portkey before it left. Of course, they could apparate out and meet with the others later, but there was something so terrifying about the group being completely separated, no matter how short of a time it was for.

"Yes," Dominique answered breathlessly, gesturing to the small bag hanging from her shoulder, "we have to hurry - the portkey-"

Lily took her hand, Dominique took Louis's hand, and they began running. Everyone was standing in the middle of the field, holding the portkey. Scorpius, Hunter, James, and McGonagall struggled to keep a shield around them that was big enough to protect everybody. Christabel and Hugo were holding on to the portkey tightly, yelling for Dominique, Louis, and Lily to hurry.

The moment the trio ran out of the house, Andre rounded on them. Lily looked back, horrified when she saw that Dominique's wand was in the waistline of her jeans. Dominique had no available hands, for she was holding Lily's hand with one, and Louis's with the other. Louis, realizing the same thing, fumbled with his wand and dropped it.

It was like they were in slow motion. Lily was the only person with the available wand, but she was not strong enough to shield all three of them. Lily did not know what made her do it, or why it was so easy for her to make the decision, but with hardly a second thought, she threw a shield up over herself and Dominique just as a green blast came in their direction.

Lily locked eyes with Louis, watching as the last spark of life left his eyes and he fell to the ground, motionless.

When Dominique watched her brother fall dead, the breath seemed to _whoosh _out of her in one gust. The others were screaming frantically now, begging them to hurry, begging them to run. Dominique collapsed into Lily's side, which only made it easier for Lily to grab her by the arm and drag her to the portkey. Lily's shield faltered the moment they were in the larger one the others had conjured.

Lily took Dominique by the wrist, shoving her wand in her bra with the other hand, and slammed the other girl's hand onto the portkey, holding it there. Lily placed her other hand on the portkey just as it started to take off.

They tore to the destination, landing roughly on concrete. When Lily opened her eyes, she saw that they were in an alleyway behind a shoddy looking building titled, _St. Johnson's Hotel_. Down the alleyway, Lily could see and opening that led to a busy street. Lily was unsure of what down they were in, but she assumed it was Muggle London.

She stood up, brushing dirt off her pants, the image of Louis dying still clear in her head. Everyone was completely quiet, all eyes on Dominique. Hunter was beside her in an instant, putting his arms around her, pulling her up off the ground. Dominique's eyes were wide, looking at everyone in a confused sort of daze, her breath coming in ragged pants. Finally, realization seemed to dawn on her. Huge sobs took over her body as she fell to her knees once more, taking Hunter with her. He kept his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers, his hair falling so it shielded both of their faces.

It had been expected that at least one of them would die before their journey was over, but it did not seem real until it had actually happened.

**A/N:**

**I feel like all of your inner serial killer sides are going to come out and I'll be super freaked out when you all tell me you're happy Louis died… um… haha.**

**Right, well, this was one of those chapters that came super naturally to me. It was sort of like breathing. Like, I didn't even know what I wrote until I looked back at it… if that makes any sense.**

**Anyway. Louis was always going to be the first to go. He really **_**was **_**just a massive waste of space and hard to write, because he never had a storyline or a real personality. I originally intended on getting rid of him ages ago, because I didn't plan on this story being as long as it is turning out to be. Generally, I write about 30-35 chapters per story. Well, I think this story is going to be a lot longer… I'm not sure though, so don't get your hopes up. Haha. There's still a lot to happen, though, so we'll see. **

**Thanks so much for the brilliant reviews! There was no many "You want to be a published author?!" Of course I **_**want **_**to be, but what writer doesn't? The likeliness of that ever happening is about zero to none for me. But if I ever do, I **_**swear **_**I will let you guys know. You won't be out of the loop.**

**Reviews are appreciated, as always. Love you guys!**

**Written, **

**Anonymous;)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-Two:**

**Lily Potter II:**

McGonagall kindly rented four rooms at the St. Johnson's Hotel. One was for herself, another for the girls, and two for the boys. Lily had thought that her attempt to separate the genders was a bit stupid, since they had not really followed that rule to begin with.

Hunter had clearly claimed the first designated room, when he practically carried Dominique into it and placed the _Do Not Disturb _sign on the door. Scorpius took dibs on the third designated room, taking all the keys without batting an eye, and slipping them into his pocket, aside from one. He stealthily walked past Lily, sliding one into her back pocket without looking at her. In other circumstances, the act would have been seductive. This time, though, it was obvious that Scorpius knew Lily would need someone - need him - after what had happened to Louis.

The others agreed to take the second designated room, but only until Albus and Rose met up with them again. They claimed that six to a room would be too crowded. Lily was surprised that they had not put up a fight for the rooms, but then it hit her. They didn't want to share a room with two emotionally traumatized girls; Lily, who had just played with Death, and Dominique, who had just watched her brother take his last breath. Of course they wouldn't want to be around them. It was completely understandable.

McGonagall had sent Rose and Albus a patronus, alerting them of the narrow escape from the battle and of Louis's death. Albus had quickly sent one back, informing them that he and Rose were safe as well, but were going to stay where they were until nightfall so they could be completely sure Death Eaters had not followed them.

The sun was just beginning to set when Hunter found Lily standing against the wall outside of the room she and Scorpius were going to share.. She had been standing there for an hour, trying to process what had just happened. Lily had chosen to save Dominique over Louis. She had chosen who should live and who should die. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that it was because Dominique was closer and easier to shield, Lily could not convince herself that she had no choice over the two.

Lily had not been able to cry. She wanted to, she could feel it in her stomach and in her throat, but she could not make herself do it. There were no tears in her eyes, only blankness. If it was a Death Eater she had killed, it would be different. This was her cousin. Granted, she did not hold a wand to Louis's throat and magick him dead, but she might as well have. She did not know what made her choose Dominique over Louis. Was it because Dominique would be a better fighter? Was it because she had shown Lily kindness over the past weeks? Was it because Louis had silently threatened to tell Scorpius of the kiss Lily shared with Hunter?

"Lily," Hunter said when he opened the door and slipped out, closing it again behind him.

"Yes?" Lily asked. Her voice didn't sound like her own. It sounded different. It sounded too innocent, too childish.

Hunter looked exhausted. Dark circles ringed his eyes, his hair was mussed, his clothes were wrinkled, the collar of his shirt was wet with what Lily assumed was Dominique's tears. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. "She's… asking for you. She wants to talk to you."

"Hunter," Lily said quietly. "I can't. I can't talk to her after what I did."

"Please, Lily," Hunter begged. "Please. I can't give her anything, I can't say anything. I don't know her well enough to know what she'd want right now. The only thing she is asking for is you. Please, Lily, if you can't do it for her, do it for me. Don't make her go through this. Don't make me watch her go through this."

Lily couldn't say no to Hunter. He had helped her so much since she had met him. He had housed her and her family, saved Scorpius, saved Lily herself… She had to do this for him, and for Dominique as well. She loved Hunter like she loved Albus and James, and to Lily's utter shock, she realized that she loved Dominique as well. "Okay," Lily finally said. "Okay."

Hunter opened the door for her and stepped aside so she could enter. He stayed outside. Lily crept into the room quietly, letting her eyes adjust to the complete darkness. Dominique was curled up on the bed, her silky blonde hair covering her face. She sat up slowly when she saw Lily, the hair falling away to reveal her blue, bloodshot eyes. Lily had never seen Dominique in such a terrible state. "Lily," Dominique rasped.

Lily sat beside Dominique, unable to predict what was going to happen next. "Dominique… I…"

"I forgive you," Dominique said, beginning to cry. "I forgive you, Lily," she sobbed. "Please, don't apologize, it will only make it more real. Please. Just…" Dominique stared into Lily's eyes, her tears never ending. "Lily, he's dead. He's dead_. _My baby brother… _dead. _I should have told you to shield him, but I didn't. I knew you were going to shield me, I was grateful you were going to shield me. I am… was… his big sister; I should have been there to protect him! Lily, this is my fault! This is completely my fault! I'm so… _terrible!_ I just watched him fall to the ground. I watched that green light hit him and… and…"

Lily put her arms around Dominique and the other girl collapsed gratefully into her side. Lily stroked her hair softly, silently. The guilt Lily had felt before was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Lily tried to imagine having to watch Albus or James get hit by the Killing Curse, but she couldn't even start. "This is not your fault," Lily said quietly. "This is not your fault." Lily kept repeating the words to her cousin, unsure if they were truly directed to Dominique or if they were directed to herself.

Dominique fell asleep quickly, almost as if Lily's reassurances were a lullaby. Dominique still rested heavily on Lily, her head nestled in the crook of her younger cousin's neck, breathing deeply and evenly. Her blonde hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and to her cheeks with tears. It was the first time Lily had ever seen Dominique in a less-than-perfect state. Even during battle, Dominique was beautiful. Her tear streaked face and mussed hair made her only that much more real. In that moment, the last shard of ice that kept the girls at arm's length from each other vanished.

Lily's stomach twisted into more knots when she found that all of the ill feelings she felt toward Dominique were gone. How could that be? Did it really take Lily practically killing Dominique's brother for her to feel satisfied? No, no… Lily was in no way satisfied with what she had done…

"Is she asleep?" Hunter said in barely a whisper as he slipped back into the hotel room.

Lily nodded emotionlessly, carefully switching places with Hunter, trying not to jostle Dominique. When Hunter was settled, Dominique's eyes fluttered open for a moment. She was awake just long enough to lay back, pulling Hunter with her, and wrap her legs and arms around him. In other circumstances, it would have been funny. Hunter probably would have been as red as a tomato, his goofy smile across his face. But this was different. There was nothing funny and nice about the situation. It was only sad. Miserable.

Finally feeling completely overwhelmed, Lily left without saying another word. Overwhelmed was probably a bit of an understatement. Overwhelmed she was, but she also felt disgusting. Dirty. Filthy. _Filthy. _That was it. She was filthy. She felt like she was covered in grime and dirt, bugs crawling all over her… Worms, maggots… She looked down at her arms, expecting to see insects traveling across her skin. All she saw was clean, white flesh. But it was _there. _She could feel it.

By the time she managed to unlock the door to Scorpius's room with unsteady hands, she was hyperventilating. She had gone from completely still to trembling all over in less than a second. Scorpius was laying flat on his back on the bed when she walked into the mediocre hotel room, but sat straight up when he saw her. "Lily-"

"I killed him, Scorpius," Lily said faintly, a loud buzzing starting to sound in her ears. She felt like she was drowning in filth. "I killed him… I killed him…"

"No, you didn't." Scorpius was off the bed and in front of her in two long strides, resting his hands on her shoulders and forcing her to look at him.

"I'm not innocent. I'm a murderer. I'm dirty. I'm _filthy._" She ran her hand across her opposite arm, again expecting to feel bugs and dirt all over her. This time, she _could_ feel it. She could actually feel bugs crawling up and down her arms. She screamed, shoving Scorpius away from her. Lily fell to her knees, clawing desperately at her arms, desperate to get the filth off. It only took Scorpius a few seconds to react. By now, Lily had clawed so hard at her arms that she had drawn blood.

"Stop it!" Scorpius shouted in her ear, as his knees hit the ground beside her and he put his arms around her. This was not the way he normally would. Not gently, not romantically. He was physically restraining her, his arms like bars around her. Later, Lily would be grateful, but now, she just wanted him off. She did not want her filth to get on him.

"Get off of me!" Lily shrieked, trying to push away from him. "Scorpius, stop! Get off! I'm not clean!" The bugs continued to crawl over her body. A thousand tiny legs tickling her arms, legs, and neck. "I can't get them off!" Lily yelled wildly, unable to breathe. "They're not coming off! They're not going away!"

"Lily, none of this is real, you're having a bit of a breakdown-"

"_No!_" Lily screamed as the bugs traveled up her neck and approached her face, completely oblivious to what Scorpius was frantically trying to get across to her. With a burst of adrenaline, she tugged her arms and hands free of Scorpius's grip on her and slashed at her face, willing to do anything to get the filth to go away. She just wanted it gone. She wanted it off. She wished it had never been there in the first place.

"Lily!" Scorpius yelled, shaking her with one hand and trying to get her to stop clawing at herself with the other. "You have to stop this! You're better than this! You can-"

They were in her hair. They were in her _hair. _She could feel them digging their way through her hair, to her scalp, where they tried to burrow themselves in her skin-

Scorpius apparently had enough when Lily began to try to tear out her hair. He stood up, eyes blazing, and slung her across one of his shoulders, then proceeded to walk purposefully across the hotel room to the bathroom, Lily kicking and screaming the whole way. He switched on the light with his elbow before setting Lily down on the counter near the sink. He did not hesitate to grasp the hem of her shirt and tug it over her head, pull off her boots, then her pants. Lily was left in only her underwear, but she didn't care. She didn't have time to care, for Scorpius had grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her over to the shower. He flipped it on and shoved Lily inside, following quickly after her.

The cold water hit Lily like a slap in the face. The bugs disappeared, the dirt disappeared, the buzzing disappeared, the tension in her body disappeared. Scorpius had only gotten half of his shirt unbuttoned when she collapsed into him, gasping for air. He caught her clumsily, one arm across her lower back and the other's hand gripping her arm. "Oh, Merlin," Lily wheezed. "Oh, no…"

"I've got you," Scorpius said roughly. "It's okay. It's okay now."

"Scorpius… I don't know how that happened. That's never happened before."

"You feel guilty. It was the guilt your feeling. Unjustified guilt, because you did what was logical, but guilt nonetheless." He was quiet for a moment. "I know, the guilt is terrible. No matter how many times you tell yourself it wasn't your fault, you can't get it out of your head. It starts to take over. Sometimes, it takes you away."

Lily turned her head so her face was buried in his chest. She felt him reach up and adjust the handle to warm up the water. Lily couldn't speak anymore, for her throat had tightened. She gripped the loose fabric of his shirt, trying to breath deeply. Her heart was still pounding in her ears, the mere thought of the… _breakdown _she just had making her shake. Scorpius rubbed up and down her back with his hands silently, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Confusion was still wreaking havoc in Lily's mind. Clearly, the guilt showed that what she did was wrong, evil, dirty. If it hadn't been wrong, surely she would not feel this way. Why did Lily choose to protect Dominique? Dominique had done so many directly terrible things when Louis had just been a nuisance. Dominique tormented her as a child, snapped at Lily when Lily was only trying to show kindness, told Rose to drop Leo-

_Leo. _

Lily had forgotten Leo at the cottage.

Finally, Lily started to cry. Horrible sobs tore through her body, making her knees buckle. Scorpius didn't expect her to fall to her knees, so when she did all he could do was fall with her. Their position was awkward. Scorpius, tall an gangly, his legs spread out and taking up the whole shower, with Lily sitting sideways between them. He seemed to be expecting her to start clawing at her skin again, so he tried to hold her wrists. When Lily just laid weakly against him, he realized that this was something completely different from before. "What is it?" he asked softly, lifting her chin up to meet his.

Lily was in hysterics. "L-L-Leo," she sobbed, struggling for air. "We forgot him!"

Realization hit his features hard. Scorpius closed his eyes briefly, exhaling, before he put his arms around Lily and cradled her against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, his face buried in her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Leo was the last gift her parents had given her… The little, innocent, gray ball of fur that trotted wherever Lily went, so much, in fact, that Lily never even gave his presence a second thought. He was just always _there._ He was part of her. Leo was her baby. Hunter's joking words rang in her head. _You'd be a terrible mother anyway._

Lily knew that they couldn't go back for him. Not for a long time. Knowing Leo, he would be gone by then. He was a survivor. Lily was hardly comforted by this fact. Her little sidekick was gone and she would probably never see him again. The last gift her parents had given her, she would never see again. Just like she would probably never see her parents again.

After a long time, the water began to run cold. Scorpius could have easily magicked it back to warm, but he seemed to think it was time to get out of the shower. Carefully, he lifted a grief stricken Lily and helped her out of the shower. She was shivering, partly from the cold, partly from the trauma she had endured that day.

Silently, Scorpius pointed his wand at his shirt that was laying on the ground and Lily watched as its dampness disappeared. If it had been a couple months ago, Lily would have been surprised that Scorpius was able to perform spells silently. Now she knew not to be surprised, for she had accepted his talent. "Here," he said softly, reaching down and handing her his shirt. "You can wear it. You don't want to put that shirt and those jeans back on, I'm sure."

Scorpius respectfully averted his gaze when Lily unclasped her water soaked bra and pulled off her underwear. After shrugging on the white dress shirt and buttoning it up, leaving the last three undone, Lily walked out of the bathroom and crawled into the already-rumpled bed, grateful that Scorpius's shirt fell about mid-thigh. If it had been anybody else, Lily would have magicked her underwear dry… but with Scorpius, it didn't seem necessary. With Scorpius, she didn't _want _to.

She waited for Scorpius, watching as he shut the door halfway. He pulled off his dripping pants and wrung them out in the sink before drying those as well. The door just shielded the parts of his body that Lily would not have normally seen anyway, but even in this state, the thought of Scorpius being naked only a few meters away from her made her heart stutter unevenly in her chest. He stepped in front of the door and Lily was just able to see the back of his neck, his right shoulder blade, the entire right side of his back leading down to his waist and the curve of his right hipbone, and his entire right leg before he pulled on his pants once more. He walked out of the bathroom, his normally belted pants hanging low on his hips.

Lily, even in her devastation, could not stop looking at Scorpius topless. To anyone else, it may have been considered blatantly checking him out - maybe it _was _-but Lily just found him so… for lack of a better word… interesting. She would probably never find him less interesting. It was hard to explain, Lily thought, because of course she did not find the scars themselves attractive or sexy, because they had caused Scorpius pain and Lily would never like anything that hurt Scorpius, but they made him _him. _Scorpius wasn't himself, physically or mentally, without his scars. Those scars told his story, but only to those who were lucky enough to hear it.

Scorpius joined Lily on the bed, where she sat Indian style with the sheets pulled over her lap. He gracefully folded his body in a position similar to hers, only crossing his legs in front of him. He appraised her for a long moment. "Are you okay?" he finally asked, sighing. Lily knew he wasn't asking if she was okay with Louis's death or losing Leo. He was asking if she was okay after the episode she had just experienced.

Lily swallowed, nodding as she rolled up the sleeves on her borrowed shirt. "I… Yes, I-" She gasped when she saw her arms. Angry red lines and cuts puckered the skin from her wrist to the opposite side of her elbow. A small amount of blood welled at the cuts. Lily touched one, expecting it to sting. When it didn't, she looked up at Scorpius, eyes wide.

"I tried to stop you," he said quietly. "I couldn't."

Lily looked at her nails, but she couldn't remember clawing at herself. She knew she had, but she couldn't remember it. "I can't remember. I couldn't feel it."

"No," Scorpius said, almost to himself. "No, you wouldn't."

Slowly, Lily reached up and touched the still-bruised part of Scorpius's eye. "You don't remember feeling this?"

"No," he said, wrapping his fingers gently around her wrist, watching Lily carefully. "I don't remember."

Lily looked down at her arms again. "Will they scar?"

"The ones that bled will," he responded. Lily looked up at him, completely ashamed that one tear had slid down her face. Scorpius reached and wiped it away with his index finger. "They will fade over time," he continued. "They will only be obvious for a few months."

They were quiet for a long time, sitting on the bed, the only light in the room coming from a dusty old lamp in the corner beside a green armchair. Lily looked at her arms, wondering vaguely what had truly just happened. It scared her, but she knew that she was safe with Scorpius. Scorpius knew what was going on with her better than Lily did herself. She was incredibly lucky to have him. Lily felt as if she didn't deserve to have him after what had happened that day, but she was too selfish to turn him away. He was the only thing anchoring her to the hotel, to the world.

"Lily Luna," he said after awhile, his voice the same sing-song voice it had been when he had used her middle name for the first time. Lily looked up at him, smiling slightly. Scorpius sighed, pulling her to him. "You've changed so much from the first time you spent the night in the music room."

"I have?" Lily asked, putting her arms around his torso and lacing her fingers together behind him.

"Considerably," he answered. "I remember that night very clearly. You rambled when I caught you in the doorway; that hasn't changed much. You were defensive that night, like you thought I was testing you. I wasn't, you know," he said quietly. "I was just curious. I saw you standing in the doorway, your hair sticking up wildly like you had been trying to sleep, and I wondered why I had never taken the time to get to know my best friend's sister. I had lived with you my whole life, after all. I commented on your age, but I knew you were only a couple years younger than us." Lily was unsure what the reminiscing was leading to, but his quiet voice in her ear was making her tired, so she didn't really care. "When you fell asleep in the chair by the window looking at the stars, I had this thought."

"What was it?" Lily looked up at him.

"Your name."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "My name?"

"Lily," he said, tracing a flower in the air with his index finger. "Like the Lilium Stargazer."

Lily stared at him blankly for a long moment. "The what?" she finally asked.

"The loveliest kind of lily there is," Scorpius responded.

The next words he spoke were so soft Lily had to strain herself to hear it. "That was when I knew I wanted to be with you," he finished.

Lily blushed, but this wasn't the normal kind of flush she had inherited from her mother. Lily could feel faint patches of pink appear on her cheekbones as she contemplated what she was about to do. Finally, she unlaced her fingers from behind Scorpius so she could place her hands on his shoulder. She pulled herself up so she was straddling his lap, her knees resting on the bed below him, so they were at eye level.

It was obvious that Scorpius knew Lily's uncovered lower regions were literally on top of the zipper of his pants, for he was clearly trying to keep his breathing level. "Do you remember," Lily began, sliding her hands up his neck and slipping them in his hair, "when we were…" She swallowed. "When we were naming Leo?"

Scorpius nodded slowly, seeming to find it hard to focus, for his eyes kept traveling to her lips.

"Do you remember," Lily continued in a very quiet voice, "when you were telling me about Regulus and how I would surely find him 'dreamy' since he was named after a star?" When Scorpius nodded once more, Lily rested her forehead on his. "Do you remember when you reminded me that you were named after an entire constellation?"

"Yes," he said hoarsely, still seeming very distracted as he placed his hands on the curve of her hips. Lily could feel something going on in his pants and she had to steady her thoughts before she spoke again.

"_That _is when I knew I wanted to be with you," she said finally.

Then he was kissing her. Crushing his lips to hers, he tightened his grasp on her waist and half lifted, half pushed her off of him and on to her back on the bed. What he intended to do Lily would never know because as he began to position herself on top of her, she rolled over so he was beneath her. Scorpius did not seem to care how they were laying, just as long as he could keep his hands on her. Lily was straddling his torso now, her mouth moving hungrily against his.

One of Scorpius's hand's grip tightened even more on her waist while the other slide up her spine and to the back of her neck where he pressed down, as if doing this would bring Lily closer to him. Lily's hair fell on either side of their faces like curtains, the ends curling on the pillow beneath them. Their breathing was fast and heavy, and Lily wondered vaguely how far Scorpius would go with her.

Scorpius, apparently deciding it was his turn to be on top, rolled over so he was placed on top of Lily, their lips never parting. Lily's legs were still around his waist when he kissed from her mouth, down her jaw and neck, and slowly approached her chest. Lily's heart was pounding so hard that surely Scorpius could feel it beneath his lips. He continued kissing her slowly, and as he got closer to the collar, he undid one of the buttons of the shirt. He kissed her collarbones and began moving farther down, unbuttoning each button as he got lower. Finally, he was at the button that would reveal her breasts if undone. As Scorpius's fingers grazed the button, Lily gasped-

The door clicked and swung open. Albus stood in the doorway, his voice cold as ice. "What the _fuck?_"

**A/N:**

**Oh shit. Ohhhhhh shit. Oh. Shit. **

**Okay, so that really took a long time to get up. It was really hard chapter to write. At some points, I was literally writing one sentence at a time. This chapter had a lot happen in it. Facing Dominique, Lily's mental/emotional breakdown, near sex, and then… Albus. I know what you're thinking and I want to comment on it before it fills the reviews. "zomg how did albus get in he didn't have key." He's a wizard, guys. Surely, most of them probably just use keys to be polite.**

**Alright. I love you guys so much. The past reviews have honestly warmed my heart. I'm so glad that you guys like this story.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-Three:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Scorpius's dropped his head on Lily's chest in a defeated sigh, his body seeming to go limp. Lily had absolutely no idea how to react, so as Scorpius pushed himself off the bed - off of her - all Lily could do was begin to button up the shirt Scorpius loaned her and hastily pull the sheets around her waist. "Albus," Scorpius said, hooking his fingers through his belt loops and pulling up his pants that had began to slip down. Lily was unsure how to classify Scorpius's facial expression. It was an odd mixture of defensive surety and shame. "Albus, hear me out. Listen to me."

"Outside, Malfoy," Albus snarled, and Lily finally turned back to look at her brother. For the first time in ages, there was no softness in his eyes when he looked at Scorpius - only pure rage. The wind outside had made his hair even more messy and his normally pale complexion was becoming increasingly red. He looked like a madman, Lily decided. Having been trapped in a house with her brother for her entire life, she had seen him express a lot of emotions, but she had never seen him _this _discomposed.

"Albus-" Lily began, clumsily standing up beside Scorpius, nearly tripping over the sheet that she still held around her waist. Instinctively, he had reached out to steady her. That was enough for Albus.

He tore across the room, grabbed Scorpius roughly by the upper arm, and practically dragged him out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind them. Lily hurried after them so she could press her ear against the door. It turned out that the action was unnecessary, because she could have heard Albus yelling from the next block over.

"_How dare you?!_" Albus roared, and Lily heard and felt a very loud thump against the wall. Lily pictured her brother throwing Scorpius against the wall and winced, not liking the image. "What did you think you were doing? The only reason I came back here before morning was to make sure she was okay after what happened. When I got that patronus from McGonagall, telling me that Lily had been with Dominique when Louis was killed-"

Scorpius finally snapped. "Stop acting like you're so surprised to find us like that, Albus," he said, his voice scary calm. "You know as well as everyone else that Lily and I have been-"

"What? Having some weird affair in the midst of this crisis?"

"What affair?" Scorpius demanded. "It is not like she's my mistress! It's not like I have somebody waiting for me _back at home_." His voiced was laced with sarcasm. "For Merlin's sake, we were just kissing-"

"Just kissing? _Just kissing?_" Albus's shouts were murderous. "That is my _baby sister _for fuck's sake! You vile excuse for a human being! You _fucking bastard! _How could you play with her emotions like that? Just like you did to that poor girl who stayed at the manor back when we were fourteen. How could you do that to my sister? How could you let her believe that you-"

"How could I let her believe that I love her? Maybe because I _do _love her!"

Lily's breath caught. The silence that followed was so long that Lily was tempted to open the door and make sure they were still there. Finally, Albus said, "You love her?" His voice was a mixture of relieved surprised. It was odd, Lily thought, after all of her assumptions about Albus and his feelings toward Scorpius that he would act this way…

"I… I think so," Scorpius said tightly. "I think I do."

Albus's temper flared once more, though when he spoke his voice was much more quiet than it was before. "You _think _you love her? You are nearly… nearly… having sex with her, when you only think that you love her? She deserves better than that, and if you can't see that you are not who I thought you were all these years, Scorpius. Lily, out of all of these people, deserves to have a great life. She doesn't deserve to be here, in this hell, and she definitely doesn't deserve to have sex with someone who _thinks _they love her-"

"She _changes _me, Albus." Scorpius's voice was pained, his desperation to get Albus to understand evident. Lily had never heard him sound so unarmed. His next words burned into her mind. "Your sister changes me. When I see my reflection in her eyes, I don't see the same reflection as I would if I looked in a mirror. I feel like I can be better for her. I feel like I can be… normal. For her. She is like medicine, Albus. I see her face when she's not around, I hear her laugh when somebody says something funny and she's not even in the room, I hear her voice when I'm alone. Albus, please, believe me when I say that I care about her as much as I-"

"But you don't know if you love her?" Albus sounded impatient, yet oddly sympathetic all at the same time. It was like Albus knew something about Scorpius, something that Lily didn't. "Even _this, _all of this, everything you feel about my sister, you don't think it's love?"

Lily couldn't hear Scorpius's next words. She assumed he said something along the lines of, "I don't know."

"But you doknow, Scorpius!" Albus snapped. "You should, anyway. This is not something that you can hide from. This is life or death. This is _Lily._" Instant tears streamed down her face at Albus's words. He cared about her so much, that had just been proven. But why… _why _had he acted so strange about Scorpius and Lily's blossoming relationship?

"I don't know if I can love her," Scorpius said, his voice monotone.

"You say you don't know if you can love anybody," Albus said harshly. Lily finally started to grasp what Albus had known about Scorpius. Scorpius thought he couldn't properly love anybody. Albus knew that… Albus knew that… _because?_ He answered for her, as if he could hear her thoughts. "You can, Scorpius. I'm the only person you have ever been close to. I am your _brother, _Scorpius. Our bond, mate, is thicker than the blood that runs through our veins. Our bond has beat the odds, when the odds favored that we would be enemies. A Malfoy and a Potter. You have always dismissed it, never talked about it, but today… You say you can't love, but today you proved it."

"Albus, today I had to do what was necessary-" Scorpius sounded uncomfortable.

"The Occlumency you had to do may have been necessary, but that does not mean you had to do it." _Occlumency? _Lily thought, flabbergasted.

"It wasn't Occlumency, Albus, it was Legilimency-" Scorpius said, as if trying to shut down the topic before it even started, but Albus cut him off.

"It doesn't matter," Albus said, "both Occlumency and Legilimency you thought you could never do, regardless of how much practice or how hard you tried. You could never get it right. You father said that your emotions got in the way, am I correct?" Lily's mind was reeling. What did Occlumency and Legilimency - technically, mind-reading or transmitting messages through the mind - have to do with love?

"My father-"

"Said you couldn't, that your emotions got in the way, but you tried to prove him wrong. How many nights did I sit by you in the library as you tried to send messages to me? You could never do it. I don't know if not being able to send messages even to me - your best friend, the closest person to you, regardless of what you say - fueled your thoughts on not being able to feel love-"

"That was Legilimency, Albus, not Occlumency. My father said I could never perform _Occlumency_-"

"It is practically the same thing!" Albus nearly shouted before lowering his voice once more. "They both revolve around the mind, yet they are opposite of each other-"

"Right, so is this just to remind me that I can't do Occlumency _or _Legilimency?"

"You can, Scorpius. You _did. _Today on the field."

Finally, Lily understood what they were talking about. Scorpius, having used Legilimency, was able to tell Albus an escape route when he was being held at wandpoint by Andre. Her own thoughts that she had during the battle echoing in her mind. _Albus jerked his head away from the wand and disapparated, as if Scorpius's silent pleas had reached him._

"What does that have to do with love?" Scorpius demanded.

"Your father said your emotions would get in the way of the ability to do Occlumency, and since Legilimency is in the same magical realm, we are assuming that he would have thought your emotions would get in the way of that as well." Albus paused, waiting for Scorpius to interrupt. When he didn't, Albus began to speak again. "Today, when you saw me at wandpoint, you were so panicked. Your emotions were everywhere. You had to do something. Out of the sheer desperation to protect your brother, you were able to use Legilimency. You saved my life with your emotions, with your love. The fact that you could even feel that much emotion for me after I said those horrible things to you yesterday about your mother's death only solidifies the proof."

Scorpius was knocked speechless.

"You keeping insisting that I don't know you," Albus said, and Lily could hear a small smile in his tone, "but I know you better than you know yourself."

"I had to," Scorpius finally said hoarsely. Lily assumed he was talking about his use of Legilimency. "I didn't have a choice. It was life or death." He echoed Albus's previous words about Lily. "You're my brother. I would do anything for my brother."

"Likewise," was all Albus said to make Lily finally understand the kind of love Albus felt toward Scorpius. He didn't feel romantic love, for Heaven's sake, _no. _Lily felt stupid for even considering it.Albus didn't feel the love he would for a friend, or even a cousin. He felt the love that he felt for a sibling, that he felt for Lily and James. Lily understood completely how he felt, because she felt the same love for Albus that Albus felt for Scorpius.

The boys were quiet for a long time before Albus spoke. "Look, Scorp, I know things have been rough between us lately. I feel like I need to apologize to you. I felt so conflicted toward what's going on between you and Lily… I still do, sort of. I didn't know whose side to take. One of you would do or say something that would make me take the other's side… and I…" Albus paused. "I couldn't stand to see you take advantage of her. But, if there was the chance that you truly cared about her, I could not stand to see her unintentionally hurt you. She's so young… She doesn't know what she's doing."

"Trust me," Scorpius said heavily, "she's more mature than you think."

"I don't need to know the dirty details of the sex life you share with my sister," Albus said, while still managing to sound disgusted, joked. Lily was relieved that Albus had dropped the anger he felt. It was evident that, though rather unhappy about it, Albus was beginning to accept the fact that Scorpius and Lily were together.

"Shut up," Scorpius said, sounding amused. "You know what I mean."

"Is she okay?" Albus asked abruptly. "After Louis… and…"

"Ah…" Scorpius cleared his throat. "No. No, she's not okay. There was a bit of a scare."

"A scare?" Albus asked, and Lily imagined him raising an eyebrow.

It took awhile for Scorpius to answer. "She dissociated… badly."

Now Albus was quiet. When he spoke, Lily was surprised to hear that his voice was thick. "Damn it," he said. "Damn it. _Damn it. _I should have never let her get as involved with this as she is. I… I should have kept her on the sidelines, the way Rose is doing with Hugo. The way Dominique did for Louis. I'm responsible for her, Scorpius! I'm the only one who might be able to keep her at bay. James wouldn't be able to do it, he's too soft… I took a chance, allowing her to be as involved in this as she is… Look what it's doing to her."

"She's strong, Albus. There's no way even you could have kept her out of it. She's a natural leader. She even pushed Rose - _Rose, _who even I thought would be helping you and I through all of this - out of the way. Lily is more like you than you think, Albus. She can handle it. She played her first game of Life and Death today."

"Did you take care of her?" Albus asked. Lily longed to put her arms around her brother, but she felt that it would be wrong to interrupt this deep of a conversation between the boys.

"I did," Scorpius said. "I will always take care of her."

Albus sighed. "I haven't been doing a very good job, have I? As an older brother."

"No," Scorpius said in brutal honesty. "You haven't. Albus, you don't have to worry about me all the time. Lily should be just as important as I am to you, probably even more."

"I know, Scorp, but how things were getting at the manor… How worried you were about your patronus-"

"I'm fine now," Scorpius cut him off hastily. "The patronus… Well, I was going stir crazy at that damned manor. Of course I still worry about the patronus, but back then I was going a little mental." Lily had nearly forgotten about how Scorpius reacted when he had to produce his patronus. It was evident that he still was absolutely _not _okay with his patronus's form; Lily could hear it in his voice. Albus could too.

"Scorpius…" Albus said, sound exasperated.

"Like I said, don't worry about me. It's not _your _fault I'm a bad omen." Scorpius's old sarcasm was back in his tone, the sarcasm that Lily had only ever really endured when she was with him in the music room at the manor. It used to make Lily mildly amused, but now that she knew that the source of the sarcasm was self-hate, it sent chills down her spine. "Look, we should get inside. Lily probably thinks you murdered me and that you're dragging me off to the woods."

"Mind if I share your hotel room?" Albus asked, a sly tone settling in his voice, apparently deciding to drop the patronus-talk for the night. "You don't think I'll let you room with my baby sister alone after I found you two in that very… _compromising _state?"

**A/N:**

**Again, sorry that took so long. I've been having insane writer's block. Ugh. PLUS, The Mortal Instruments just started filming and I've been emotionally compromised over that. I know a lot of HP fans have beef with TMI, but… It's like physically impossible for me not to love it. How can you guys **_**not **_**love Magnus Bane? Come on. Seriously you guys. Seriously.**

**Any other TMI fans? How good does Kevin Zegers look in his Shadowhunter attire? Oh, Alec, our blue-eyed baby… What about JCB in his Shadowhunter getup? Oh, and Robert Sheehan as Simon? You guys, I am absolutely in love with the cast. I honestly… I just can't. **

**I'm going to go start reading Divergent now. Is it any good?**

**I loved the reviews for the last chapter! I love you guys so much. **

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**

**PS:**

**Story about Albus's sexuality: Okay, so originally Albus **_**was **_**going to be gay. It is one of those things where everyone made a big deal out of it, like "zomg albus is gay wtf?!" and it sort of pissed me off, considering gay characters shouldn't be **_**that **_**surprising. Or surprising at all. So, literally, up until this chapter, Albus was gay. But then I realized I wouldn't have time to have to give Albus the entire plotline he deserved. This story is getting pretty drawn out and I'm going to have to put it to an end soon (right, right, and I have a feeling the ending is going to piss all you off BIG TIME. Forewarning, though, I've planned this ending since like Ch. 2, so if your reading this right now, the only hint I'm giving you is…damn it that would give it away…I'll let you know the - cough - **_**disclaimer **_**- COUGH - in the last author's note). Luckily, I wrote it where he could have **_**not **_**been gay and Lily just thought he was because of how much he cared about Scorpius. So now I might throw in a little brother/brother drama over Christabel… But we'll see. But yeah, the whole Albus thing is proof that I don't really plan ahead at all. You guys are like "zomg you must plan this out before you even write it" when it all honesty, I don't, and you guys don't say "zomg" that much either.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-Four:**

**Lily Potter II:**

The entire night had been… interesting.

_Lily leapt away from the door when she heard the door unlock and the knob turn. When Albus and Scorpius were back in the room, Albus gave Lily a very stern look. "We will speak later," he said darkly. Lily nodded, her eyes wide. After staring at her for a long moment, Albus put his arms around his little sister and held her tightly. "Are you okay?" he asked._

"_Yes," Lily squeaked, incredibly comforted by Albus's concern._

_Albus pulled away, keeping his hands on Lily's shoulders, his green eyes staring holes into hers. "It was not your fault," was all he said. _

_Lily managed to nod. _

"_Now, if you'd please go put on some clothes. We'll talk about Louis later." _

_Lily's cheeks flared as she nearly tripped over the sheet that was still wrapped around her waist when she hurried to the bathroom to change back into her jeans. When she emerged from the bathroom, Scorpius was leaning uncomfortable against the wall closest to the door as Albus settled himself on the bed. "You have a choice," Albus said. "You can each sleep on either side of me or you can sleep on either side of the bed. Your pick."_

"_What if I told you my cum was all over that bed, would you still want to sleep on it?" Scorpius asked, examining his nails and quirking an eyebrow. _

_Lily choked on the saliva she had been swallowing as Albus, in his haste to launch himself off the bed, fell face-first onto the carpeted floor. "What are you talking about__-" Albus began, his face red, wincing as he stood up._

"_Joking," Scorpius said, raising his hands up in defense as he sauntered over to the bed, picked up a pillow, and threw it at Albus, who caught it. Lily noticed how comfortable Scorpius was shirtless around herself and Albus, unashamed of his scars. Though it was odd, Lily felt extremely warm and fuzzy. She had gotten close to Scorpius Malfoy. It was still unreal. "Lily gets the bed." _

"_Lily would rather just go and sleep in Hunter's room, if you don't mind-" Lily began, edging toward the door, desperate to get away from the horrible awkwardness of the situation she was in._

"_What, so you can sleep with him too?" Albus asked. Lily widened her eyes._

_Lily and Scorpius stared at him blankly. "Not funny," they said in unison._

"_That was sort of creepy," Albus muttered, shaking his head in disgust. "Fine, Lily gets the bed but if I catch you sneaking up there for a little midnight rendezvous, I swear to Merlin, Scorpius, you will-" _

_Scorpius switched off the light, probably hoping the shut Albus up. Lily, like an idiot, tried to blindly find her way to the bed. Scorpius, apparently was crossing the room at the same time. The two ran into each other, and when Lily gasped, Scorpius reached out to steady her, probably fearing that she was going to fall. In the darkness of the room, he placed his hand right on her ass._

_Lily's gasp made Albus shout, _"Lumos!"

"_Fuck," Scorpius said as Albus's wand lit up, dropping his hand. "Sorry."_

_If Lily's cheeks had been red before, it was nothing compared to what they were now. The three of them were standing at the end of the bed, each of them with an extremely uncomfortable look on their face. Before Lily could say anything, Albus had grabbed Scorpius by the arm, pushed him onto the ground, and threw the pillow he still had in his hands onto Scorpius's face. When he was finished, he was breathing raggedly. "Go to sleep, Scorpius." _

_On the ground, Scorpius's limbs were spread everywhere, his silky hair splayed out around his head on the carpet. When Scorpius moved the pillow from his face, his was laughing. Not just a casual laugh, either. His entire body was shaking with silent laughter. He looked like he was trying to say something, but he couldn't. He reached up and covered his face with his hands. Lily had never seen him laugh so hard. He was so adorable, Lily could hardly stand it. _

_Lily started giggling as well, and finally, she couldn't stop laughing either. She fell to her knees beside Scorpius, and he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down beside him, wrapping that arm around her. Albus was watching with a look of pure horror written across his face, as if Scorpius and Lily had started have extremely dirty sex right then and there. This only made Scorpius laugh harder, it seemed. _

"_I'm sorry," Scorpius gasped. Lily laughed harder, more so at the fact that Scorpius had become so discomposed over something so unfunny. "I - one second - I can't - damn it-"_

_Finally, Albus's lips twitched with a smile. Then, he was laughing too. Lily had a feeling he did not have the privilege of seeing Scorpius laugh this hard that often, either. He dropped to the floor beside Lily, wearing a smile Lily had not seen in a long time. So there they were: all three of them, on the floor, beside each other, grasping their sides, desperate for air. _

"_Oh, Merlin," Albus wheezed. "Oh, this is so wrong…"_

_It felt like they laughed for hours. Then, Scorpius was sleeping. Lily glanced over at Albus, and saw that he was sleeping as well. She carefully sat up, took the abandoned pillow and placed it under Scorpius's head. She then walked quietly to the bed to get Albus and herself a pillow. After placing a pillow under Albus's head, she plopped the other one down between them. Lily then yanked the down blanket off the bed and settled herself in the middle of Albus and Scorpius once more, spreading the blanket out over them. _

_It was an odd sight, clearly. Albus, still fully clothed, not sparing the shoes, Lily in Scorpius's shirt and jeans, and Scorpius in nothing but his usual black pants, beneath a blanket. Black, red, and white-blond hair peeked out at the pillows, each a stark contrast to the next._

_Lily didn't care. It only took her a few minutes to begin to doze off, but when she did, she was happy that she was with her boys._

Needless to say, the emotions that night had been all over the place.

Lily had woken up with Albus holding onto her in a steel grip, and one of Scorpius's legs tossed across both of her own. Now she was trying to maneuver her way out from under Scorpius and Albus without waking them up. But, they were natural born aurors, so as soon as Lily so much as twitched, they were sitting straight up, wands out.

Scorpius blinked, lowering his wand dazedly. Lily resisted the urge to swoon at Scorpius's usual morning confusion. Albus stood and stretched. "What time is it?" he asked, glancing down at Lily and Scorpius who were still on the floor. He strode across the room and flicked open the curtain. "It's… it's midmorning."

The three exchanged horrified glances.

"Maybe… maybe everyone is sleeping," Lily tried to reason. Scorpius stood up and reached down to offer Lily his hand. Once he pulled her up, Lily hurried to the side table where her wand rested. She felt instantly safer with her fingers curled around the wood.

"No," Albus said. "No, I told Rose to wake me up if I slept past eight."

"Maybe Rose slept late-" Lily began to offer, but Albus was already out the door, apparently deciding that seeing for himself was the best option. Lily and Scorpius followed quickly. The three walked down the narrow deck, to the room at the end where McGonagall was staying.

Albus knocked on the door, but it glided open as his fist touched the wood. The three walked in slowly, their wands raised. The room was dark, the curtains pulled together. The bed was neatly rumpled - only McGonagall could have a _neatly _rumpled bed. There was half empty tea cup on the side table and… a wand laying haphazardly on the ground beside the table.

"This is McGonagall's wand," Albus said roughly, picking it up.

Albus and Scorpius locked eyes, but Lily had no clue what they said to each other for she was already sprinting out of the hotel room and back down the deck and toward the room Hunter and Dominique shared. "_Lily!_" Scorpius yelled after her, and before she knew it he and Albus were on her heels. Lily glanced back to see Scorpius nearly tripping over Albus when he had stopped directly in front of James's room, the look on his face that of sheer terror when he saw that door was open a crack.

Lily would regret not stopping at James's room first later, but at that moment she had to make sure Hunter and Dominique were alright. She took it as a good sign that the door was still locked shut. She slammed her fist on the door, desperate for them to answer. "_Hunter!_" she yelled. "Hunter, please, open the door! Please, there's been-"

The door swung open and there stood a shirtless Hunter with a very sleepy Dominique rubbing her eyes behind him. Lily collapsed into the room, pulling both of them toward her and hugging them tightly. She was a little surprised at how much relief she felt for finding Dominique safe, but she decided to roll with it. She did not have time to feed into her past hatred for Dominique. "Lily, what happened? Is everything okay-" Hunter began, grabbing Lily by the shoulders so he could look at her. Dominique was already halfway across the room at this point, grabbing her wand, as well as Hunter's, and the bag that she, Lily, and Louis had gone back for the day before.

It was when Dominique had gotten back to the door that Scorpius called for Lily, his voice frantic. "_Lily!_" he yelled. "Lily, come here! And _please _tell me Belvidere is with you-"

Lily, Dominique, and Hunter ran to the next room over. At first, they could not see where Albus and Scorpius were, but the light in the bathroom proved their presence. When the three piled into the yellowy-lit bathroom with Albus and Scorpius, Lily and Dominique gasped.

Christabel was laying on the ground, her wrists and feet bound with ropes. Duct tape covered her mouth and her cheeks bulged with what Lily assumed was a piece of fabric to keep her quiet. She was crying, her eyes wide. Hunter fell to his knees beside his sister, ripping the duct tape off her mouth pulling out the fabric - a sock. Christabel choked and coughed as Hunter untied her wrists. Once she was free, Hunter pulled her to him in a ferocious embrace. Lily and Dominique grabbed hand towels and wetted them in the sink. As Scorpius and Albus began shooting off questions, the two girls cleaned up Christabel's bleeding wrists.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked. "Who came? Why did they leave you here?"

"I-"

"Why did they leave _you _here, Belvidere?" Scorpius asked, suddenly suspicious, raising his wand.

"_Wait! _Don't you dare touch him!" Christabel screeched, shoving Hunter behind her, ripping his wand out of his hand as she did so and holding at level with Scorpius's own wand. This had all happened within a few milliseconds. Hunter looked as confused as Lily felt. Albus quirked an eyebrow beside Scorpius and appraised Christabel like he was seeing her for the first time. "They left a note. _They left a note. _Put your wand down, please. Don't hurt my brother. He's innocent. We're all innocent." She was breathing raggedly and if had been anybody else, Lily would have been suspicious, but the truth in her eyes was evident. "They said that each of you are a threat. They wanted to get the ones who weren't a threat out of the way."

"The note?" Scorpius prompted.

Christabel got a traumatized glint in her eye. "He… He… Andre…" She took a deep breath, and Lily's complete and utter shock, Albus stepped forward, pushing down Scorpius's wand arm with his hand.

"What did he do to you?" Albus asked.

"He… He carved the note into my back. He cut me. I…"

"Show us."

Without another word, Christabel turned around and pulled the back of her shirt up. Lily choked on a sob and stumbled forward, grabbing Albus's arm as he slid to the floor. Hunter walked around his sister so he could see what the note said, and swore when he made out the miniscule, obviously magicked, still-bleeding slashes that formed letters on Christabel's pale flesh. Without a word, he reached out to Dominique and held her close to him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

_Hello, lovelies. If you are too ignorant to see, your tagalongs have gone missing. There is no need to search for them, for they are dead. Ask the beauteous Christabel; she can confirm the truth. I believe we can call this a bit of a reality check. While the rest of you were busy with personal affairs, I was able to kill them all _-_ right under your noses. I do not regret to inform you that they died a painful death. _

_Do not deny the fact that you are relieved I have killed the insolent and incapable and old half of you off first, and in turn I will not deny that those of you left are indeed talented young witches and wizards who are very capable of putting up a fight. Luckily, I have your parents. Their demise can happen one of two ways: painlessly or painfully. Turn yourself in to us, and I promise to make sure that they die peacefully. Do not turn yourself into us, and I will personally make sure that they die screaming. _

_You have until the end of the week to turn yourself to Malfoy Manor. Scorpius will know the way._

_Looking forward to seeing you,_

_Andre_

**A/N:**

**Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnnnnn.**

**Okay, yeah, so that happened. Sudden deaths are always a slap in the face. A reality check, as Andre said. Thanks SO MUCH for all the reviews on the last chapter. And I am really glad that quite of few of you guys love The Mortal Instruments as much as I do. I might have to write some TMI fanfics or something… Would you read it?**

**Let me know how you liked this chapter. I love you all! Quotes/moments you liked? Any predictions?**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-Five:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"We have to go," Albus said gruffly, shoving himself off of the ground. "We have to leave. We need… we need a safe house. Scorpius, where's the damn folder my father left for us? Where is it-"

"I have it," Dominique said, reaching into the bag that Rose had brought from the manor. She pulled out the envelope that contained every possible plan the children would need to survive. Albus snatched it from her without saying anything and pulled out a pile of parchment. It was then that Lily realized - through her complete, utter, and unregistered shock - that Albus's hands were shaking. They were shaking so hard that Scorpius had to take the pieces of parchment from him.

"I've got it," he said lightly, and though Albus handed it over without a fight, Lily could tell that he wished he had something to do with his hands. The shaking was incredibly obvious now. Albus watched Scorpius shuffle through the parchment with wide eyes. Lily felt numb. Her fingers were tingling with the sensation that she would get if her limbs were falling asleep.

Christabel was crying, clinging to Hunter, who had put his arms around her when she had pulled the back of her shirt down. Hunter was watching Lily, analyzing her facial expression. Lily was so shocked that she was having a hard time even remembering why Albus was shaking, why Scorpius had to take it upon himself to look at the parchment, why Christabel was crying…

"Grimmauld Place," Scorpius said. "The second safe house is Grimmauld Place."

"I…" Albus took a deep breath. "I reckon we should leave now. Apparate. Lily?" He looked around, and his eyes passed her twice before he finally saw her. "Lily, come here." Lily stumbled forward, past Scorpius who was analyzing her with the same intensity that Hunter had. The only difference with Scorpius what that he seemed to be at odds - who to go to? Albus or Lily?

Albus took Lily by the wrist. "There's a map?" Albus asked. "It's in London, I know that much… My father… He used to tell James and I… My father… James…"

Lily didn't know why she was crying. She couldn't remember. Albus's grip tightened on her wrist, and Lily could see the veins standing out on his neck, as if he was trying to keep himself from yelling out in agony.

"There's a map, mate," Scorpius said, his voice sounding tight with emotion. "I've got it. Belvidere." Scorpius looked up at Hunter, who tore his eyes away from Lily. "Take the map and meet us there." Glancing down at the parchment once more to assure himself of the location, he handed it to Hunter. There was an unspoken agreement that Hunter would apparate himself, Dominique, and Christabel there, and Scorpius would apparate himself, Lily, and Albus.

Scorpius took Albus's hand and wrapped his arm around Lily's waist, his lips brushing her forehead being the last thing Lily felt before the three disapparated from the hotel.

They appeared in a muggle neighborhood. Albus nearly tripped when they landed - an odd thing for him to do, Lily thought. His hands were still shaking and his face was pale. Scorpius reached out to catch his best friend, his fingers gripping Albus's upper arm. At this point, Hunter, Dominique, and Christabel appeared, Christabel limping slightly from whatever Andre and his followers had done to her.

Scorpius was having trouble getting Albus's attention. "Albus. Al. Look at me."

Albus had been staring at a space between two houses in front of them, where an rickety, old house sat. Lily knew that they were probably the only people who could see it. Albus dragged his eyes to meet Scorpius's.

"I'm guessing your father has placed enchantments on the house. You're probably the only one who can open it." Scorpius said the words very slowly, tightening his grip on Albus's arm. Lily watched the two, fascinated. She was vaguely aware of Hunter and Dominique exchanging alarmed glances, then looking back at her. Christabel swayed on her feet and nearly collapsed into Hunter, who snapped his attention away from Lily to focus on his sister.

Albus stared blankly at Scorpius, then, unexpectedly, he stumbled forward to the house. Scorpius followed after him, never taking his hand off of Albus's arm. Lily followed after them dazedly. Once the three were at the door, followed closely by the others, Albus placed his hand on the doorknob. There was a very evident _click _of the locks unlocking, and the door swung open.

A very thick, oozy feeling was beginning to settle over Lily. She couldn't describe exactly what the feeling was, only what it would be in a physical state. Something terrible had happened. They had been attacked and the others had been killed, Lily registered. But… how? Surely, this was some sick joke. It was not true. There was no way it could be true.

The children walked down a dusty narrow hallway and followed it into a just as dusty kitchen. They stood around an island that was placed right in the middle. Hysterical laughter bubbled up in Lily's throat. They were standing around an island… similar to the island at the cottage. The island that Scorpius and Lily had both nearly died on. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. She was laughing so hard, so manically… Scorpius seemed to be at odds with himself. Albus needed him, but apparently, so did Lily.

She grasped the edges of the island, digging her nails into the wood, still laughing. Her laughter began to transform at this point, into something much more appropriate for the circumstances. She was crying now, and she looked up to find Hunter watching her, his eyes very sad. A sense of déjà vu passed over Lily and she began to wonder what it meant, but then it hit her. It finally hit her.

James was dead. Supposedly. As was Rose, Hugo, and McGonagall. How… _how… _

Suddenly, Albus stormed out of the room, apparently snapping out of his shocked phase as well. Scorpius looked after him, before he looked at Lily. Lily was still crying, and she wanted more than anything else for Scorpius to stay with her, but she knew that Albus needed him as well. "Go," she said thickly. "Please, go. Go to Albus. He needs you."

Scorpius stared at Lily, his eyes pained, and finally, he hurried out of the kitchen.

Lily covered her hand with her mouth and turned around, her chest feeling ridiculously tight. Her crying was doing nothing to fix that discomfort. She tried to distract herself by looking around the hardly lit kitchen of Grimmauld place, but the thought of James… James… her oldest brother. The sweet one. The naïve one. The nurturing one. Dead.

No. James couldn't be dead, could he? There's was no way. James was a talented wizard… What the hell had Andre been talking about? Christabel was surely lying. Christabel had to be lying. Lily made a snap decision. Christabel was the traitor, she had to be the traitor.

Lily spun back around to find Hunter, Christabel, and Dominique watching her. "You," Lily said, walking around the island, her eyes blazing. She grabbed Christabel by the shirt and shoved her against the wall. The others were completely shocked, so there was no time to react. "You know what happened. James can't be dead. He can't be."

"Lily, I watched," Christabel said desperately, her voice shaking and tears starting to slide down her cheeks.

"You're lying!" Lily screamed, her face inches away from Christabel's. "_You! Are! Lying!_"

"No-"

"Tell me what happened, then. Tell me exactly what happened."

Suddenly, Christabel's eyes glazed over. "Tell you what?"

Lily was shoved roughly out of the way by Hunter, he grabbed his sister's shoulders and shook her. "Christabel? Look at me." _What is he doing? _Lily thought angrily. _She's a traitor! _Hunter kept talking. "Christabel, answer Lily's question. Tell us what happened to the others."

"Andre killed them," Christabel said, the spark in her eyes returning. "I watched him kill them."

"No, Christabel," Hunter said, shaking his head. "How did he kill them?"

Christabel looked confused. "He… killed them."

"How, Chrissy?" Hunter looked desperate. When Christabel looked away from him, Hunter grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him again. "How did Andre kill the others?"

"He killed them, Hunter."

"Tell us how he killed them, dammit!" Hunter shouted. Lily jumped and Dominique placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder. A yelling Hunter was a scared Hunter… which was very, very bad. Did this mean Christabel really was a traitor? Or something entirely different? "Christabel," he begged, his blue eyes, so similar to the eyes of his sister that he was looking into wide, "please tell me you can tell us how he killed them."

"I don't…" Christabel's eyes widened. "I watched him kill them, but I don't know how he did."

"No," Hunter said, pulling his sister close to him. "Merlin… No."

"Hunter, what's going on-" Dominique began to ask.

"She's under the Imperious curse."

"What?" Christabel squeaked, as Lily gasped and rushed forward to… what? Hug Christabel? After she had nearly ripped her head off only moments before? Lily froze, exchanging a shocked glance with Dominique. "How do you know, Hunter?" Christabel asked, pulling away from her brother so she could look at him.

"How was James killed, Christabel?" Hunter asked.

"James was killed," she responded, her eyes glazing over.

"How?" Hunter prompted.

"He was killed."

"How?"

"I don't know!" Christabel began to cry. "James is dead! I… I can't believe he's dead. How? I was there, but I don't know how they killed him… Hunter, I'm scared."

At that moment, Scorpius walked back into the kitchen. Surely, he was questioning why Hunter had been shouting. "What's going on?" he asked Dominique as he took Lily's wrist and pulled her to his side before wrapping his arm around her waist. Before Dominique could answer, he looked down at Lily, "Albus is asleep," he said quickly. "He… ah… he asked me to put him under."

"You left him _alone? _After performing a sleeping spell on him? After everything that just happened?!" Lily gasped, surprised again that she was so coherent, or at least coherent enough to be mad at Scorpius. A thought was forming in her head… A thought that was giving her hope, more hope than she had ever felt in her life. If Christabel had been told under the Imperious curse that James and the other had been killed, did that mean there was a chance that they hadn't? That Andre was just bluffing? But… what would keep him from killing them?

"I've done it before," Scorpius said, taken aback. "Dangerous, yes, but not too difficult anymore…"

Dominique's response to Scorpius's previous question forced him to give his attention to her, as Lily pulled away, appalled that he left her brother alone. The only indication that Scorpius felt any emotion toward Lily's action was the tensing of his jaw. "We think that Christabel is under the Imperious curse," Dominique said. It was clear in her eyes that she was feeling the same hope that Lily was. The three turned their gazes back to the Hunter and Christabel. Christabel was done with the questioning, that much was obvious from the tears streaming down her face. She was terrified, and Hunter was helpless as he hugged her.

"You're sure she's under the Imperious curse, Belvidere?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm certain," Hunter responded. "You can check, if you'd like."

Scorpius, apparently not trusting Hunter's judgment, stepped forward. "Christabel," Scorpius said gently as Hunter disengaged himself from his sister's embrace. "Look at me. Listen to the words I say very closely." Scorpius began to speak as if he were talking to a tiny child. "How. Did. Andre. Kill. The. Others."

Christabel eyes, as if somebody had flipped a switch, glazed over. "Andre killed them."

"You can fight it," Scorpius said. "It's a mental game. You're strong enough to fight it. How did Andre kill the others?"

Christabel looked like she was in horrible pain. Her eyes were clamped shut, her teeth grinding together. Lily and Hunter exchanged alarmed glances. Scorpius grabbed Christabel's chin as Hunter did earlier. "How did Andre kill them?" His eyes had a dangerous glint in them, as his voice had a scary tinge. There was no emotion on his face, only the look of business. He was going to break Christabel out of the trance, even if it hurt her.

Christabel half screamed, half groaned, like something was trying to force it's way out of her. It was clear that she wanted to say something, that she was about to say something, but it just would not come out. She could not form the words. "Do you love James?" Scorpius suddenly asked.

Christabel opened her eyes, breathing raggedly. "What?"

"Do you love him? James?"

"I... I care about him. I don't really know him."

"Lily," Scorpius said, "go wake up your brother. Be gentle."

"Why? Albus isn't James-" Lily began, partially annoyed, partially curious. Scorpius had just put Albus to sleep at Albus's wishes… Why would he wake him up?

"_Lily._" Scorpius's voice was like ice. "Go wake up your brother."

Lily obeyed.

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the wait. I'm too tired to write a super long A/N. Reviews are appreciated, as always. Love you guys!**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own. **

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows. **

**Lilium Stargazer **

**Chapter Thirty-Six:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Lily walked up the stairs of Grimmauld Place, running her hand along the banister. Her father and mother had lived here with James during the early days of the war. There were still little pieces of them everywhere, left forgotten in what Lily assumed was their haste to leave after having been discovered. It was chilling, seeing James's old baby toys scattering the floor, walking past a nursery that used to be his, walking past a bathroom and seeing a box half ripped open… Lily could see a moving title on it, just under a very thick layer of dust: _Pregnancy Confirmation Test: Find Out the Morning After! _There was a smiling woman on the cover. Lily wondered if her mother and father had just found out they were having Albus before they had to flee to the manor.

Finally, Lily reached the last upstairs bedroom. The door that still read, _Sirius_, was cracked just a hair.Lily pushed it open to find her brother sprawled out on the bed, his feet dangling off the side, his glasses askew on his face. Lily wondered if this is what Harry looked like living here; young and carefree. Lily could picture baby James sleeping on Harry's chest, Ginny at their bedside, trying to get a picture of her rarely still husband and son…

"Albus," Lily said quietly, sitting down beside her brother on the bed that Scorpius had magicked the dust off of. "Wake up," she said softly, shaking her brother's arm, feeling as if she was making a grave mistake. She felt horrible for waking Albus up, but she knew Scorpius would not have asked unless it was urgent. "Wake up, Al," Lily said quietly, hoping she sounded like their mother and not an annoying younger sister.

Albus groaned, blinking his eyes open. "What?" he asked, then he saw it was Lily. He sat straight up, his body tense as he grabbed her arm. "How long have I been asleep? Is everyone okay? Is Scorpius-"

"He's fine," Lily said quickly, resting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Everything is fine."

Albus and Lily stared blankly at each other, knowing that absolutely nothing was _fine. _

"How long have I been asleep?" Albus asked again, relaxing slightly.

"Less than thirty minutes," Lily informed him. "Scorpius sent me up here to wake you. Christabel is under the Imperious curse. She can only tell us that James and the others were killed… not _how. _Scorpius can't lift it."

"The Imperious curse," Albus said emotionlessly.

"Yes, Albus," Lily said. "The Imperious curse."

"You know what this could mean?" It was evident that Albus was trying to keep himself from sounding hopeful.

"James could still be alive," Lily answered softly. "Albus, James could still be alive."

Without another word, Albus stood up and offered Lily his hand. He pulled her to her feet and led her from the room, his stride purposeful. They walked in silence back down the kitchen. Lily was in awe that Albus had not even asked _why _Scorpius needed him to help lift the curse, or what he had to do. All he knew was that if Scorpius had not needed him, he would not have woken him up. It was simple thing; an expected thing… But, Lily would never be able to understand the dynamics of their friendship, never understand the roots… Only what was on the very surface.

"What's going on?" Albus asked once they were in the kitchen.

Lily noticed immediately that Christabel looked at Albus, her eyes wide with fright. It was natural to be afraid, Lily decided, since she was the one who would have to fight off the curse. If Christabel could not fight of the curse, what would they do with her? What _could _they do with her?

"Lily has told you that Christabel is under the Imperious curse?" Scorpius asked, taking in his best friend's expression. Albus nodded, appraising Christabel, who was still huddled between Hunter and Dominique. Scorpius leaned against the counter across the room from them, the only obvious tension in his body being at his shoulders.

Albus nodded and turned his gaze to Scorpius. "What do you need?"

Scorpius jerked his head in the direction of the door that led into the hallway. "A moment, please?"

The two boys piled out into the hallway. Lily tried her hardest to listen, but the only words she could collect were from Albus's outraged whisper. "_What?!_" he demanded. "I'm not doing that. I can't do that to her… or to James."

Lily could hear Scorpius reply, but she couldn't make out the words. Finally, the two boys returned, Albus looking defeated and Scorpius looking guilty. Christabel looked up as Hunter pushed her behind him. "What are you two planning?" he asked.

"Christabel," Albus said gently, ignoring Hunter. "The others are going to leave the room, okay? It's just going to be me and you. We're just going to talk." Lily looked at Scorpius, wondering what they had planned. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and Lily remembered that he thought she was mad at him. Lily sighed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head at him, hoping that it told him she was no longer upset. He offered her small smile, one that made Lily's heart flutter, before returning his gaze to Christabel.

Christabel was looking at Albus with wide eyes. "What are we talking about?" she asked.

"It will only take a few minutes, Christabel." Albus's voice was extremely soft.

Christabel looked up at Hunter and nodded at him. Hunter hesitated, but finally, stepped away and toward Lily. When he was beside her, Lily took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Scorpius's eyes flicker in their direction. It only took a millisecond, but Lily saw it. Her stomach plummeted.

Two minutes later, Scorpius, Dominique, Lily, and Hunter were standing outside the kitchen, trying their best to listen to what was going on. Lily and Scorpius were closest to the door, their ears all but pressed right against it. "Close your eyes," Albus said. Then, tone that Albus's voice took on was so startling that Lily jumped. If she had not been completely sure that James was not in the house, she would have been convinced that it had been the oldest Potter son who had spoken. "Christabel," Albus said in a voice identical to James's. Christabel gasped. "Can you tell me how Andre…" Albus paused, and Lily knew what he was thinking. This was sick. This was morbid. Lily looked up at Scorpius, who, while Lily was listening so intently, had slid down the wall and began rubbing his temples. "Can you tell me how Andre killed me?"

Christabel choked on her tears. Hunter stiffened, but Dominique rested a hand on his shoulder, holding one finger up to her lips, telling him to be quiet. Lily covered her hand with her mouth, suddenly overcome by emotion for… what? Hearing Christabel practically mourn James? Having to listen to Albus speak… no, act like their brother? Knowing that this might be the only way to find out whether James and the others were alive?

"Christabel…" Albus continued in James's voice. "I need you to tell me. Focus. This is the only way… you can…" Albus's voice wavered. "You can see me again." At this point, Lily had to see what was going on. As quietly as she could, she opened the door just a crack, praying it wouldn't creak. It didn't, and Albus and Christabel were too caught up in what they were doing to notice. Albus was standing directly in front of Christabel at the end of the island, his hands wrapped around her arms just above the elbows. He was staring into her face, as if he was staring into her eyes, but Christabel's eyes were closed. She was shaking, her clamped eyes hardly managing to hold her tears.

"Albus - _please _-I can't - it hurts-"

Albus's voice snapped back to his own. _"Please, _Christabel," he begged, his voice cracking, tightening his grip on her arms, and pulling her body toward his, his forehead nearly resting against hers.

This broke Christabel. She choked on a sob and collapsed into Albus, her caught her and held her tightly. "I'm sorry," Albus said quietly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry we made you do that. We didn't have any other options… We had to try. I'm so sorry."

Christabel nodded into Albus's chest, and Albus reached up to stroke her long hair down her back. Feeling like she was intruding upon a private moment, Lily closed the door.

…

Everyone had fallen asleep upstairs. Well, except Scorpius. Lily was looking for him. She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Clearly, Scorpius had been upset when he had walked away from the scene in the kitchen. Lily had let him be, but she now knew from experience that leaving Scorpius alone for too long was not the best idea.

It did not take long for her to find him, for Grimmauld Place was fairly small. Lily stood in the entrance of the drawing room, watching Scorpius as he examined the wall that held the Black family tree, as well as all of the families that extended off of it. "You know," Scorpius said, apparently sensing her in the doorway as he often did. "I'm on this wall. My grandmother, my grandfather, my father, and my mother… We're all on this wall. It's magic, you see… When a family member is married or born into the family, it's added. When I was born, my picture appeared here. It states my father is deceased… as well as my mother…" Scorpius shook his head and turned to Lily. "I'm one of the only remaining purebloods in the wizarding world, Lily. This war… this war is pointless. Shroudrouge is losing a lost battle. Soon, the purebloods will be extinct and there will be no way to revive that line, regardless of whether the war is won by him or not. This is how it is supposed to happen."

"Filthy inbred," Lily joked lightly, walking slowly into the room to meet Scorpius halfway.

She was rewarded with a small smile. "Ah, you see me for what I really am."

Lily noticed immediately that his hands were shaking. She took him by one wrist and held his hand up to see it better. "You need your piano, don't you?" she asked quietly. "It's been weeks since you've played."

"I'll live," Scorpius replied, taking his hand from hers and resting it on her waist. "How are you? Everything has gone so fast from this morning, and I haven't been able to see if you were alright from what happened yesterday." Had Louis's death really only been the day before? Lily mentally shook herself. Time was starting to twist in odd ways.

"I'm okay," Lily said. "Albus is the one who is hurting."

Scorpius stepped closer. "James is your brother too," he said.

"I know… I just… I care more about Albus's feelings than I do mine," Lily explained, sliding her hand up Scorpius's torso, dragging the fabric of his shirt with her, as he reached up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. Scorpius ran his fingers down her jaw bone and around her neck, his eyes never leaving hers. "And…" Lily continued, hardly able to breath, "I'd rather think about Albus's feelings over mine… because… then… I'm distracted…"

"Are you distracted now?" Scorpius asked, pressing his lips to her forehead and trailing them down her temple. Lily's hand was still resting on Scorpius's chest, and now she slid her hand entirely underneath his shirt, desperate to feel his warm skin. She ran her hand back down his chest, feeling every lean muscle in his body, the way they tensed when Lily hooked a finger from her other hand in a belt loop of his pants. Scorpius stepped even _closer _to Lily, his hips and lower region brushing against Lily's own.

"I…" Lily looked up at him. "This…"

Something clicked. Earlier, when Lily had squeezed Hunter's hand and Scorpius had seen.

"Stop," Lily said quietly. "Stop it."

Scorpius pulled away. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"I kissed Hunter."

Lily was a fucking idiot. She did not know what made her blurt it out. She was almost fairly certain that there wasn't a reason at all. The only possibility is that it had been weighing on her subconscious since it had happened, and since Louis had died, the only person who knew, she had felt even guiltier.

"You… _what?_" Scorpius's voice was so cold that Lily could have started shivering.

"It was before… before you and I ever-"

Scorpius held up his hand, backing away from her. "Do _not _try to tell me that you and Hunter kissed before anything happened between us. You know damn well that you did not know Hunter before things started happening between us. You and I, Lily… the _things _happening between us started at the manor. When we met Hunter, I was convinced that our feelings for each other were made obvious. Please, correct me if I'm wrong."

Scorpius had never used that tone on Lily. The tone that made Lily feel so small and stupid. The only thing that kept Lily from falling to her knees was the fact was that Scorpius was acting too saintly for his own good. "You're a hypocrite," Lily said evenly.

Scorpius's eyes widened. "What?"

"Hypocrite, Scorpius. You're a hypocrite. Don't spout how we had our feelings out there in the open when you spent a good half of our time at Hogwarts flirting with Dominique. _Right in front of me. _Not only that, but to make me feel worse about myself. Whenever I would do something wrong, you'd turn right to Dominique. Not only was that unfair to me, but it was unfair to her."

Scorpius was quiet for a long time, watching her. He knew she was right, it was clear in his eyes. Finally, he asked, "Is Belvidere upstairs?"

"Don't you dare go up there, Scorpius Malfoy!" Lily snapped, her voice louder than intended.

"Why?" Scorpius asked, his voice tinged with a taunt. Lily throat grew tight when she realized that this was his Malfoy side. This was what made him a Malfoy. He could be passionate and confident, but he could also be mirthless and petty. "Are you scared I'm going to hurt him? Are you scared that he'll admit to other dirty deeds that you two performed behind my back?"

Lily felt like he had slapped her. She had to blink back tears. "If you go up there, Scorpius, if you so much as lay a finger on him, I will never speak to you again."

"Don't you care about how I feel?" he asked. "If you care about me so much, Lily, how can you care about what Hunter will feel if I just talk to him? If I just confront him on the issue? Do you realize you haven't even apologized-

"_I shouldn't have to apologize!"_ Lily exploded, her shout surely waking up everybody in the house. "There's nothing going on between me and Hunter. We haven't participated in 'dirty deeds.' He kissed me because I hadn't had my first kiss yet… and… and…"

"So you just let him give you your first kiss? You so desperately wanted your first kiss that you just _let _him? When you knew that I would have done it, not because I was the only one available, but because I… love you?" The pain in Scorpius's eyes was clear now, and Lily was finally able to see why he was so being unreasonable. He had been convinced that Lily's first kiss had been with him. That she had shared something that special, that monumental, that private, with him. She longed to tell him that the kiss had taken place because she had been asking for advice about Scorpius and kissing, but it seemed as if the words had been sucked out of her. He had told her to her face that he loved her. Lily had to bite her lip from crying out at the pain that formed in her chest. Lily had ruined whatever relationship they had, and Scorpius had told her he loved her.

Lily walked out of the drawing room. Finally, fully, properly exhausted.

**A/N:**

**Whoa. Predictions, thoughts? Review, because I love you! **

**Getting down to the last few chapters. Oh goodness. I have an idea for my next story, and I have a feeling you guys will like it. But I need your help. So I can do one of three pairings in my next story. I can do Scorpius/Rose, Scorpius/Lily, or Scorpius/Dominique. I'm leaning toward Scorpius/Dominique, but I want to write what you guys want, so let me know.**

**No editing today, sorry.**

**Written,**

**Anonymous;)**


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own.**

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.**

**Lilium Stargazer**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Dominique's scream jerked Lily out a troubled sleep. She had fallen asleep upright in a stool next to the island in the kitchen. Her neck ached as she stood slowly, wondering what on earth could possible be wrong now. The screaming continued and she heard a clambering of feet against the floor. She heard Albus's shouting voice, then Hunter's, closely followed by Scorpius. He yelled something Lily could not distinguish, but it shut the other two up. Lily could only hear Dominique's sobs... and Christabel's labored, deranged breathing.

Lily hurried out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the bedroom where all of the commotion was. "Hold her down, Albus," Scorpius said to Lily's brother, who was holding Christabel around the waist. It only took a moment for Lily to notice the glistening knife in the middle of the bedroom floor. Lily looked at Dominique to see blood running down her arm. Lily's surprise turned to horror. Albus wrestled Christabel to the floor. Hunter, who stood beside Dominique, was watching intensely. Lily was partially surprised that he was not yelling for Albus and Scorpius not to touch Christabel, but it was evident by the look on his face that he knew that what ever they were going to do was just to help.

Once Albus had gotten Christabel to the ground, he and Scorpius exchanged places. Scorpius was straddling a still-flailing Christabel around the waist, his wand pointed directly at her. Christabel's hair was knotted around her face, her pretty features twisted into a grimace. "What are you going to do, Scorpius?" Albus demanded, his voice tense.

"I'm going to place an Imperius curse over the one she already has... Maybe it'll cancel the other one out. It's our only chance. It's the only way to keep her from trying to kill one of us."

"It's dangerous-" Albus started.

"I _know,_" Scorpius snapped. "I don't have a choice."

"Scorpius," Albus said, his voice panic-stricken. Lily eyed her brother in surprise. "It can kill her. It can take away her memories."

"I will work around them," Scorpius said, looking up at Albus, his eyes revealing nothing but confidence. Lily wondered if she was the only one who noticed his wand hand shaking slightly. "Albus. We won't be safe unless I try." At this point, Christabel slashed out at Scorpius's face, screeching. Lily started, stepping forward. Scorpius's eyes flickered to Lily and back to Albus. The betrayal that quickly dissolved back into confidence made Lily stop in her tracks.

"You know as well as I do that... that... Scorpius, the Imperius curse takes a lot of mental capability," Albus said quickly clearly trying not to waste time, but also wanting to keep Christabel from being permanently damaged. "Your abilities in mental magic are superb, but the confidence you have in yourself... I don't know... I don't want you to do something that you are not completely confident in."

"I am completely confident," Scorpius tried to assure him.

"Your hand is shaking." Scorpius could not fool Albus.

"I have to do this," Scorpius said with finality. "You know I'm the only one who can. She nearly killed Dominique. If it weren't for Belvidere, we would be one short-"

"What if you kill her?" Lily demanded. "What if you kill Christabel? Are you willing to risk her life?"

Scorpius turned his gaze back to Lily slowly. "Are you willing to risk all of our lives?"

Lily glared at him, but Albus was the one who spoke. "Let Hunter decide. He's her brother."

The three turned their gaze to where Hunter was trying to balance his attention between the situation at hand and Dominique, who still look terrified. Hunter looked like he was about to vomit. He turned his gaze to Lily. "You choose," he said, his voice cracking. "You know him. You know what's he's capable of. Please, Lily. Don't ask me to choose between a group of people I hardly know and my sister, because you know exactly who I would choose. And it would put you and your family in danger." He turned back to Dominique. "I'm so sorry."

Lily swallowed, shocked at Hunter's brutal honesty. She looked at Scorpius. "You know what I think," she said softly.

"I'm going to do it anyway," he said, his voice dripping with bitterness.

"I know you will," Lily responded, defeated. "And I am hoping that your stubborn determination to prove me wrong – to take _revenge _on me for something that is so trivial in the scheme of things – will make you all the more determined to succeed."

Scorpius appraised her, and he grinned. Not a grin that Lily liked. It was grin that she felt like she knew... only she had never seen it before. It was a grin that told her _he _was better than her, _he _could get them out of this, _he _could end the whole damned war if he wanted to... Lily clenched her teeth, and for the first time since she had grown close to him, an inkling of hatred blurred the perfect image of Scorpius she had in her mind.

"Scorpius, wait-" Albus began.

"_Imperio!_"

Christabel slumped back on the floor, all of her struggling coming to a complete halt. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her breathing became even. Lily watched Scorpius as he focused intently on the brunette girl he straddled. His eyes flickered back and forth, as if he was looking for something, something that the others could not see. Lily assumed he was digging through Christabel's mind. It ended within seconds, and Scorpius sat back.

Christabel sat up slowly, blinking. "What happened?" she asked quietly. She searched everyone's faces for a few moments, and finally, her eyes lingered on Albus. Lily assumed it was because he seemed to have taken authority over everyone... there was absolutely no other reason. Suddenly, Christabel gasped. "No... Dominque..." Her eyes flickered to Dominique and then back to Albus. "I..."

"Out," Albus said. Pain flickered in his eyes. "Everyone. Out."

Scorpius was the first to leave. He stormed out of the room, and Lily followed quickly after him. She was on his heels all the way down the stairs, until finally, she grabbed his arm and shoved him against the wall. His face was triumphant, and Lily wanted to scream. "You have no right to condescend me the way you are, Malfoy." His last name flowed from her mouth so naturally that it took Lily a moment to recover from the mind blowing deja vu.

"Condescend you?" Scorpius laughed arrogantly. "_I'm _condescending _you?_"

"What?" Lily asked, wondering how he so easily turned his wrongs on her.

"You downgraded me in there, Potter, and you know it. You thought there was a possibility that I could kill Christabel. You spoke to me as if I was scum – stupid scum. Like I would just go ahead with it, even if I had no clue what I was doing."

"Well, you didn't, did you?" Lily snapped. "You've never had to perform an Imperius Curse on top of an Imperius Curse before. You went in there blindly. You dug through her mind _blindly. _You could have torn her memories to shreds. Completely altered her thought process. Or you could have taken away her ability to be human. That's Hunter's baby _sister_-"

"Oh, because Hunter is so important-"

"He's one of us!" Lily snapped.

"No, he's not! Quit fooling yourself, Lily, he's just taking up space-" Scorpius said frustratedly, grasping at the roots of his hair and leaning toward her.

"While he's not saving my life or yours, yes, he's just completely useless-"

"Right, like you!"

Lily gasped, her sarcasm drying up in an instant. Scorpius seemed to realize what he said, and his hard armor that he had formed shattered. His face paled and he tried to step closer to her, but Lily shoved him away. "Fine," she snapped, shoving him again. He slammed against the wall. "_Fine!_" Now, Lily stepped closer to him, hot tears blurring her vision. "When this is all over, I want you to disappear, do you understand? When we have my parents and brother back... or when we know we won't be getting them back... I never want to see you again. You're ungrateful and disgusting..." Lily pulled her fist back, and Scorpius eyed it wearily, but did not flinch when she slammed it into the wall near his head. "I can't believe you!" Lily shrieked. "I'm completely useless?! You know what? Leave! _LEAVE! _I never want to see you again!"

"You honestly think I would leave you? After all of this?" His voice was hardly a whisper.

Lily's frustration evaporated. She was tired again. So tired. "I don't know what's wrong with you," Lily said, her body seeming to go limp. "I don't know what you want from me, Scorpius. One minute you're all hands... and well... _hands..._ and next, you're so mad you can't even look at me... and then you're like this..."

Scorpius was quiet, watching her.

"This is what you did to the girl who stayed at the manor with us, isn't it?" Lily asked softly. "You got her so... so attached to you, and then you played these mind games with her. You made her love you... and you left her in the dirt. You took her innocence and you left her to question whether you ever had any feelings for her at all."

"Lily-"

"You're disgusting," Lily said for the second time that day, turning away from him. Lily wondered why it had taken her so long to realize that Scorpius was not the victim of his own doings. He was weak – and he made other people weak, but he never gained any strength from it. He was... a Malfoy. That's all he was. And it ruined him.

But... he was passionate and his overall morals were right. If Scorpius had never witnessed his mother's death, if he had never blamed himself for it, if his father had not treated him the way he did, Scorpius would be a different boy. Obnoxiously cocky and arrogant, yes, but he would not be damaged and he would not unintentionally abuse those he loved. Or cared for, rather. Maybe he was right – maybe he couldn't love.

Or maybe Scorpius loved so much that he couldn't love properly.

Lily found herself walking back up to the bedroom Christabel and Albus were in. She pushed open the door, feeling like she was looking through somebody else's eyes. Had she just decided that Scorpius wasn't everything she made him out to be? Had Scorpius been right? Had he ruined her?

All of this because he found out she had kissed Hunter...

"Al," she said, for some reason not at all surprised to see him sprawled out on the floor, holding a sleeping Christabel.

He looked up at her, and something caught in Lily's throat. How... how did he do it? How did he so completely accept Scorpius for being so manipulative and controlling... and so utterly fucked up? "What is it, Lily?" he asked softly.

"We need to start planning the visit to Malfoy Manor. We need to see this through. It's time for this to end."

…

Lily sniffled softly, wiping tears off her cheeks. A few days had passed since Lily had spoken to Albus. The two had agreed upon plotting the mission to Malfoy Manor. With Hunter, Scorpius, and Dominique's help, the two had come up with a plan that would only work if Harry and the others had been plotting as well. Albus seemed certain that during his father's time in captivity, he would have thought up a plan to get out if he had the means and the right distractions. The children were doing exactly what Snape told them not to do – enter blindly. But, it was their very last option, even if that meant their reward would just be a humane death for their parents, themselves, and their siblings.

"Lily?" The quiet voice made Lily jump. She looked up to see Albus standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "What's wrong?" He seemed to realize how idiotic the question sounded, considering their circumstances.

Nonetheless, Lily answered him. "I feel like we're giving up," she said thickly. "I feel like we're turning ourselves in... like we're... we're... naughty children! I feel like all of this was for nothing."

Albus sighed and took a seat next to her at the island. If Lily made it out of this alive, she would never place an island in her kitchen. Too many horrible things, horrible conversations, had taken place at kitchen islands. Her brother took her hand in his. "If there's one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that our efforts are hardly for nothing. No effort is for nothing." His green eyes met her brown ones, and she wondered if they even looked like siblings. "Mum and dad must know that we're here, trying to save them... surely, Andre has made mention. All that matters to me, Lily, is that when we barge into Malfoy Manor, mum and dad know that we tried. That we did our damnedest to save them, but there was no way around Andre and his schemes."

"You seem pretty confident that we are not going to make it out," Lily stated, squeezing his hand.

"I am looking at the situation from all angles. I hope that we will be able to make it out, sometimes I think that we might even have a chance... and then I have to remember that hopefulness is different from reality, and it is crucial that I don't blur the lines between the two." Albus took a deep breath. "I owe you seriousness, Lils, and here it is: I am going to do everything in my power to get us all out safe... But I pray to Merlin that you will not be disappointed in me if I can't do that." To Lily's surprise, her brother's voice cracked and he blinked back a couple of tears.

"Al..." Lily swallowed. "Albus, I could never be disappointed in you. After all that you have done, even if we don't make it out... Well, I will die proud to know that you led us through this. Maybe in another life, you will lead us again." She was surprised at how strong her voice sounded. "Mum and dad will be proud, too."

Albus couldn't speak, it seemed, so the two of them sat there for a long time, basking in each other's company. They were to storm Malfoy Manor the next morning and meet their fate. The tension in the house was severe, and Albus had to break up two fights between Scorpius and Hunter in the last twelve hours. Scorpius made no effort to hide his feelings toward Hunter, and Lily had been so disgusted and horrified at how he acted that she could not even be in the same room as him. Christabel was feeling better and spent most of her time with Albus, who seemed to have a soft spot for the girl – whether it was because he felt obligated to protect her for James, or if it was something else, Lily did not know. Dominique was very quiet, but something about the way her eyes blazed told Lily that she was ready to settle this, once and for all.

It was time, and they all knew it.

Slowly, despite all of their differences, the children that were left trickled into the kitchen one by one, and took a seat around the island in silence. Scorpius was last. He took a seat at the opposite end of the table from Albus – their two leaders, as different as night and day, in their rightful spots. Lily glanced up at Hunter who sat beside his sister, watching her with knowing eyes. Lily laced her fingers through Dominique's, who was sitting beside her, and squeezed. Dominique squeezed back. Lastly, Lily looked at Scorpius. His body was relaxed. He took a deep breath. "It was pleasure working with each of you," he said softly.

If it had been a few weeks prior, their would have been an uproar. Albus would have shouted they were not going to die, claiming that they were going to all make it out alive – now the future was completely unpredictable; not even a hopeful thought could change that.

**A/N:**

**There's a story behind this chapter, actually. How long has it been? A year? A year and a half? You guys will hate me to know that I've had this chapter saved to my computer for a fucking _year. _I forgot about it. Not the story, just that I had written this chapter. It's really odd, because after rereading it, I realized how much emotion I put into this chapter? And how it was crucial to Lily and Scorpius's storyline? How could I forget about this chapter? Maybe I was so emotionally exhausted after writing this that my mind blocked out any memories of it... haha.  
>I apologize for the hiatus. I am so sincerely sorry. After reading this chapter, I realized how passionate I was about this story and I regret having put it off for so long. All the recent stuff I've written lacks the emotion that I invested in this story and I hate that I did not see it through sooner. I'm going to finish it. I promise. I'm going to push through whatever weird fucked up writer's block thing I have going on and finish it, because these characters – who I feel like don't even know anymore – deserve an ending. <strong>


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own.**

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.**

**Lilium Stargazer**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight:**

**Lily Potter II:**

Green lights flashed in every direction, shouts and screams of rage and terror echoing throughout Malfoy Manor. Lily ducked behind a pillar, taking a breath, a deep cut in her side dampening her shirt with blood. Tears streamed down her face from the sight she and her comrades had seen when they had walked into the manor, wands at the ready.

James... _James..._

Albus had been the first to shoot after they had seen the body, a strangled scream leaving his throat. He was still in the foyer, shooting off spells blindly, his voice becoming hoarse. Lily could hear him weakening. She didn't know where the others were, she didn't know what part of the manor they were in. She could hear their shouts, but their were no yells of victory. No triumph. Just the sound of battle and bloodshed.

Lily was done. She was ready to be finished. At this point, she didn't care if that meant dying. There was no way to recover from what she had been through and what she had seen over the past few months. She had lost her innocence and she didn't think she wanted to live without it.

Lily didn't know where Shroudrouge or Andre was. She hoped they would find her and finish her off first so she didn't have to see anymore of her friends' or family's dead bodies. Mostly, she didn't want to be the one to find her parents. Or rather, _not _find her parents. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew they had been gone all along and this was just a ploy to lure the rest of the Potter-Weasley clan to their death. She was holding onto her innocence by a shred all this time, and now that she let it go... Reality was the equivalent of Hell.

Suddenly, something slammed into her, sending her to floor, just as the pillar she was hiding behind exploded. She could smell him, a smell that she swore she would die remembering. Scorpius's arms were around her protectively. "Their on my tail," he said quickly, his gray eyes boring into hers. "Go. _Run._" He glanced behind him. "There's no hope here, Lily."

Those words burned into her mind. _There's no hope here. _

"Run. Get as far away as you can from here." Scorpius shoved her away. Lily stared at him wide-eyed, feeling like she had just woken up from a very deep sleep. She realized what it was then: relief. Scorpius was alive. The only pure, beautiful thing that managed to survive the hellish journey they had traveled was her love for Scorpius. She hated who he could be, but loved who he was. _Love. _It was pure and beautiful and innocent and at this point, it feel like it was the only thing that survived within Lily. It was the love she felt for Scorpius. Her brothers. Her parents. Her cousins. Her friends. The love she felt for the people she had lost or she was going to lose burned like a flame inside of her.

"Come with me," she begged. "Please."

"You know I belong here," Scorpius said, and Lily knew that he was right. He belonged there, with his best friend who was fighting in the next room, and in the house that he should have grown up in. Where did Lily belong?

More green flame started flashing through throughout the room – Lily thought it might have once been a sitting area. Somehow, Lily knew that she was near the end at this point. It was odd, sort of like a sixth sense. Her death was imminent. She looked up to see a couple of Death Eaters barging through an archway.

They saw her first, because Scorpius was still halfway behind the pillar. A Death EAter lifted his wand, and flicked his wrist.

Lily could hear her brother, louder than ever, from the foyer. She could hear her own heartbeat. She could hear her blood rushing through her veins. And she wasn't scared. The green light came at her in slow motion, and then-

Scorpius crumpled in front her, the life vanishing from him. There was no _whoosh! _or _zap!_ It simply vanished, like it had never been there in the first place. Lily saw him laying there, more vulnerable than ever before, and she knew where she belonged. With him.

Looking up at the Death Eaters, she saw one was already lifting his wand to her, he spoke the words...

And Lily woke up.


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own.**

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.**

**Lilium Stargazer**

**Chapter Last:**

**Lily Potter II:**

**BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER:**

**IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. PLEASE GO BACK AND CHECK OR THIS WON'T MAKE ANY SENSE. I LOVE GUYS, DON'T HATE ME. TOO MUCH. OKAY.**

Lily sat straight up in her four poster bed, her breathing ragged and her head pounding, the image of Scorpius's crumbling body burned to the back of her eyelids.

She looked around her dormitory that she shared with Roxanne Weasley, Lucy Weasley, and Daisy Longbottom. The drapes that hung around the window were pushed back, revealing the bright summer morning. Birds chirped. Owls flew to and fro, letters tied to their feet. It was beautiful. Beautiful... and _real. _

What... what had just happened? Lily knew that the reality she was in now was real. She remembered saying goodnight to her brother and cousins after dinner the night before and making the trek up the stairs with Roxanne and Lucy, giggling about how Daisy had nearly fainted when Albus asked her to ladle some peas on to his plate in the Great Hall. Lily remembered reading an owl her mother had sent her a couple days before, telling her that she absolutely, positively must write more or she was going to be in big trouble, miss priss. She remembered getting a letter the same day from James, who had taken up a Quidditch internship in Bulgaria the year before. She had remembered Albus lecturing her repeatedly for the past month about how she was not to speak to any of the boys on the Quidditch team. Supposedly, they had noticed Lily had gotten hips over the year – Lily's fifth year – and they were wondering how angry Albus, the Quidditch Captain, would feel if they starting chatting her up.

What on Earth had Lily just experienced? It was a dream, yes, but it had been so real. She had been so attached, so intertwined in the whole ordeal. She had made relationships with people, had been to places she had never been before in real life. How could Lily's mind have formulated a world entirely different from the one she lived in? So corrupt and damaged and raw?

Suddenly, a gray ball of fluff leaped onto her bed. Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. "_Leo!_" She pulled the cat onto her lap, hugging him tightly. He meowed angrily, wondering what she was doing to him. Leo had been in her dream. She had accidentally left him at the cottage. The cottage that Christabel and Hunter...

_Hunter. _

Pain exploded in Lily's chest at the thought of her dead boyfriend. Her first love. Or so she thought he had been her first love. Lily had never experienced love with anybody else. When Hunter had died last year in a freak Whomping Willow accident, Lily had sworn not to date anybody until she was finally fully healed from the tragedy. Leo, who was purring contentedly in her lap now, had been his cat. In the dream, Lily had left Leo where she had met Hunter. Did that have any correlation to real life?

Lily rubbed her eyes, and as she did so, Leo streaked out the door. What had happened to James? And her parents? She knew perfectly well that they were alright in _real _life. Her father was probably at the Ministry, in his big office that had been thrust upon him, despite his many objections, and her mother... was being her mother. Doing whatever it was she did all day. Quidditch sort of things. And James was in Bulgaria. They were not at risk of being tortured and killed. But... in the dream... What had happened?

"Are you still here?" a high voice asked, and Lily looked up to see Dominique standing in the doorway, her perfect blonde hair falling in curtains around her face. Lily's heart flew to her throat as she jumped to her feet and soared across the room.

"_Dom!_" Lily said, breathing a sigh of relief. What had happened to the Dominique in her dream? Did she die? Had she still been fighting?

Dominique patted her back in confusion. "Lily," Dominique said slowly. "What on Earth has gotten into you?"

Lily pulled away to look at her cousin. She was horrifically beautiful, but she never used it to her advantage. Dominique was the sweetest out of the whole Potter-Weasley clan. "I..." Lily's eyes were wide as she pulled away from her cousin. "Where's Louis? Is he alright?"

"If by alright you mean pretending we aren't his family like normal, yes, he's alright." Dominique rolled her eyes. "Come on, then, your brother will rip our throats out if we don't join him for the... _last breakfast _as he's been calling it. I swear, he needs to have more faith in our Quidditch team. He is the captain, after all. Of course, when Scorpius Malfoy-" Lily winced and blocked out the name as she dug around in her closet for her usual weekend attire "-tries to have a go at our team, he acts like a mother bear..."

"Yeah, well, Albus has always sort of been... distrustful of others, hasn't he?" Lily rambled, trying to seem normal. She was still stuck in the dream. Albus's horrified expression as his best friend threw himself in front of a green light for him, Hunter and Dominique grabbing Lily as she collapsed, Christabel's shriek...

"Lily?"

Lily realized then that she had been standing completely still, a horrified expression on her face. She looked at Dominique, her eyes wide. "Yes?" she squeaked.

"Are you alright?"

Lily bobbed her head and changed quickly, being appraised concernedly by Dominique who normally criticized her way of dressing relentlessly until Lily finally threatened to set Leo on her. "Is it one of those days, Lil?" Dominique finally asked, stepping forward.

"One of those days" is the title the family had given Lily's bad days after Hunter had died. _Yes, _Lily answered. _Yes, but for all the wrong reasons... _Lily could not the get the platinum blond boy's face out of her head... Though Lily was still devastated over Hunter's death in real life, it was like her entire body had been torn to shreds by the death of somebody who was just a dream.

Lily shook her head. "No," she responded. "I'm fine. Let's go down to breakfast."

After one last long look, Dominique shrugged and nodded. The two girls looped arms and walked down the staircase that led up to girl's dormitories in companionable silence. Lily stared at everything in awe – though she had seen it a thousand times before. Everything was so bright, and cheery, and the essence of magic twirled through the air in invisible waves that Lily could practically feel. She was slowly starting to accept that the dream had been exactly that... a dream.

As they approached the table that she and the rest of the Weasley-Potter clan shared, her heart leapt wildly in her chest as if she was seeing them after many years. Albus was slamming his fist on the table adamantly at the Quidditch team, talking strategies. The Quidditch team sat on the opposite side of Albus than the family did, but they were often just as involved in the family drama as the actual family. Albus acted as if he was convinced that they just wanted in on the Potter fame - "conniving glory whores!" - but Lily knew that he loved them about as much as he loved his family. Beside him sat Christabel, Hunter's sister, with a small smile on her face. Albus's other arm was slung lazily across her shoulder, as it always was. Lily and Dominique took their seat across from her, beside Hugo.

"Where's Rose?" Dominique asked.

"Studying," Hugo said, grinning easily. Lily knew this Hugo very well – one her of best friends actually. He had a goofy smile and a mop of flaming red hair, but girls seemed to like him well enough. According to Rose, it was up to Lily to keep them away from him; he didn't need that kind of distraction when he was meant to be studying. What had happened to Rose in the dream? Where had she gone?

"Of course," Dominique responded, rolling her eyes.

"_Lily!_" a voice shouted from down the table. Lily looked over to see Liam Finnegan trying to get her attention. "Are you going to be cheering for me?" He was a Gryffindor beater. Not the best beater, according to Albus, for he had costed them the game between Gryffindor and Slytherin the year before, but good enough. Lily giggled, rolling her eyes and sparing a glance at Albus, who Liam had interrupted mid-sentence. Albus looked absolutely livid.

"_This is not a free-for-all-_" he began but was interrupted by a too-arrogant, drawling voice. Lily's heart seemed to stop in her chest.

"Potter... I thought I could hear your appalling voice from the dungeons." Scorpius Malfoy had just entered the Great Hall, with a group of seventh year Slytherins behind him. To Lily's completely and utter horror, she began hyperventilating. Dominique looked at her concernedly. Tears stung the back of Lily's eyes, her hand shook, and she resisted the urge to run from the room. He was _not _what her imagination had made up. He was not, he was not, he as not.

Scorpius was not decked out in uniform, since the game was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. He wore his usual weekend attire: a white dress shirt rolled up around his elbows, tucked into black pants. Her face was flaming at she appraised him, and she was mortified when Scorpius's eyes flickered to her face. "Look, Potter, your sister is embarrassed for you," he said.

"My sister is-"

"That, or she has a crush on me," Scorpius spoke over Albus's words as if he could not hear him. Lily choked.

As if on cue, the Gryffindor Quidditch team roared in outrage. Lily felt the blood rush from her cheeks, and she knew that she was as white as a sheet. For some reason her eyes landed on Scorpius's arms and she found to her expectations, and morbid disappointment, that there were no scars, the perfect pale skin clear like milk. The Scorpius in the dream had really been fake, a complete figment of her imagination... She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy," she said hoarsely. She searched desperately for something to throw back at him. For some reason, her eyes landed at his crotch, and... gotcha. She smiled internally, a little bit of strength seeming to form in her mind. "I was only blushing because your fly is undone. I'm not embarrassed for _him._" She nodded toward Albus. "I'm embarrassed for _you._"

It would have been an excellent comeback if Scorpius wasn't such a prat. "Care to do it up for me?" he asked haughtily, and looked as if he was going to say more, but Albus stood up, looking like he was ready to strangle Scorpius. "If I wasn't wearing this uniform, Malfoy, and the team wouldn't have to forfeit if I punched in the mouth, I would beat your ass."

"Why not throw me into the Whomping Willow?"

And that is when Lily knew that the Scorpius she had created in her mind completely fictional. There was nothing like the Scorpius she knew in _this _Scorpius. The Scorpius she knew would _never _make reference to one of her dead loved ones in such a disrespectful way.

There was gasping and shouting from her friends and family, but she couldn't hear them.

…

Lily looked out the window of the Gryffindor common room as the sun set and the stars started to appear in the night sky. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch match; no surprise there. She had screamed and jumped and cheered excitedly, but her heart was not entirely in it. She knew it was only a matter of time before the dream became a distant memory, and she couldn't wait for that day. But now, it was as vivid as the scars on her Scorpius's skin.

She wondered what the others' fate had been. Lily wondered if Dominique and Hunter had survived, or if Rose had found her way back to the group. She wondered what had happened to Christabel, and if Albus had survived after all. Lily was so relieved it had been a dream – so, _so _relieved – but she couldn't help but mourn for... what? The people in the dream had all been apart of her life already. The only person who had actually died in real life was Hunter.

Scorpius was a different story. She didn't know how she had formed such a complex version of the boy that her family despised. Lily wiped a few tears from her cheeks, hating herself. How could she be in love with someone from a dream? A dream that hardly made any sense, for that matter. It was so... ridiculous, if she thought about it. The ultimate enemy in this world had been Voldemort – only Voldemort. Not Andre, or Shroudrouge... Hell, at the end of the dream, she had not even seen them. They had not even been her killers. There was nobody who could be more evil than Voldemort...

Except of Lily's imagination, it seemed.

It was definitely strange, seeing how each member of the group in the dream ended up being similar to how they were in real life, despite their personalities when they had been cooped up in the manor. Albus, while incredibly difficult sometimes, was sweet and pure and a leader at heart. James seemed to be the only constant throughout the dream – the older brother figure, someone they could depend on. Maybe his death was meant to throw Albus and Lily through a loop, just as it would in real life. Dominique was kind and gentle. Rose was absent, usually, involved in her studies... Did that have something to do with her disappearance in the dream? Louis was dead, possibly corresponding with the relationship he had with the others. Lily rolled her eyes. Christabel turned out to be a friend, just as she did in real life.

Then there was Hunter, who confused Lily very much. He was dead in real life, but in the dream he was what... not her romantic interest, simply her first kiss. Is that what he stood for in real life? Something as mediocre and childish as a first kiss? What did that make her relationship with him out to be?

Why did Scorpius, of all people, appear to be this extreme, everlasting love, when she had only ever argued and bantered with him in real life? Even more interesting, why did Scorpius in the dream hate Hunter so much? Why was he so jealous?

And lastly, why did Scorpius seem to take precedence over Hunter in the dream? Who was Scorpius to her?

Lily's head was pounding. She was so unsure and untrusting of her own mind. Leo jumped up on her lap and she stroked his head absently, deciding this entire situation was ridiculous. It was just a dream. There was no real meaning behind it. It was a stupid dream that she would never have to live in real life. Her family was her family, none of them were dead. Hunter was dead. And Scorpius Malfoy was Scorpius Malfoy.

She had to forget about it.

After scooping Leo up, Lily trudged up the stairs and into her dormitory, hoping to find Roxanne. She had a question about a Potions assignment from earlier that week. If Roxanne couldn't help her, she would seek out Rose. The dream was still clear in her mind, but she kept telling herself that it was completely absurd.

Weeks passed, soon months, then years. Lily never forgot about the life she had lived in her sleep or the boy with the gray eyes and the scars that marked his body, but it soon turned into a memory that she rolled her eyes at.

It was only a dream, after all.

**A/N:**

**Just know that this is how it always ended. This chapter was written as the first few chapters were being written.**

**There will be an epilogu.**

**If you guys need something to keep you from, you know, murdering me in my sleep, check out the story I've started writing and I'm going to pick back up on: Her Eyes (Rewritten). If you like this story, you'll like that one.**

**I looove you. (:**


	40. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: None of the characters that have ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are mine, obviously. They all belong to JK Rowling. It would be appreciated if you didn't take what I write and claim it as your own.**

**This story disregards the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.**

**Lilium Stargazer**

**Epilogue:**

**Lily Potter II:**

"Firewhisky, please," Lily Potter said, taking a seat on a barstool at The Leaky Cauldron and shrugging out of her coat, shaking the snow off of it. The barman nodded, cracking one open and sliding it across the bar to Lily, who thanked him and took a gulp.

Lily had just gotten off work. She had graduated from Hogwarts two years prior and was interning with the _Daily Prophet _under the Astro News section. It was tough and a highly criticized field of work, but Lily got to study stars and planets everyday. She was in heaven. Almost every night, Lily came to The Leaky Cauldron before she headed home. She liked to unwind... and people watch.

Or _person _watch, rather.

Scorpius Malfoy regularly came to the pub once he was off work, as well. He interned for his father at the Ministry, under Magical Law Enforcement. Lily sat on one end of the bar, and Scorpius sat at the other. They never spoke, but Lily liked to watch him from the corner of her eye. She was fascinated in the way he sat alone in the pub, watching people come and go, occasionally chatting with the barman.

Ever since she had dreamt of him, she watched him. When he had graduated from Hogwarts, Lily hoped her interest in him would wear off. It never did. As he grew older, his arrogance became subdued, and eventually, it seemed to vanish. She was so determined to find something – _anything –_ that reflected the Scorpius she knew in the dream. It ruined her love life, to say the least. She had merely spoken with boys, kissed one or two, but that was it. A Scorpius Malfoy she didn't even know had stolen her heart.

The door to the pub opened, the blustery weather outside blowing in momentarily. Lily looked up to see Scorpius walking in, pulling his gray scarf off, along with his black coat. He took his normal spot on the opposite end of the bar, but today, he glanced up at her once he sat down. She averted her gaze, her cheeks flaring, but for some reason, she looked back at him, unable to keep her eyes away.

Scorpius didn't look away, either. He looked so confused, but there was a weird, out-of-place relief in his eyes that Lily was not about to comprehend.

He was a man now, with a built body and stubble on his jaw. He was as handsome as ever, but the teenage body Lily knew – or thought she knew – was gone. She blinked, wondering why he wasn't looking away. Did she had something on her face? Had somebody died?

Lily's throat seemed to close up. She had to take a few deep breaths. No. Nobody died. This _wasn't _the dream. Scorpius was not her to inform her that she was under some form of the Imperious curse, and that _this _reality was a dream, and the dream she had once had was reality. No.

Finally, the barman turned his attention to Scorpius. By this time, Lily had finished her firewhisky. Before Scorpius placed his order, he quickly looked in Lily's direction and at the empty bottle. Lily could hear his quiet voice when he spoke, even over the chatter in the pub. "Two firewhiskies, please."

Lily's heart dropped from her chest to the bottom of her stomach.

When the barman handed them to him, he took one in each hand and walked over to where Lily sat. She couldn't breathe. Scorpius took a seat in the barstool beside her, and held out the firewhisky was paralyzed by his scent. It was so familiar, like something she had smelled as a child. The sweet smell of old books and the crispness of winter. Lily looked at it, and then looked back up at him, before taking it with shaking hands. The glint in his eyes was spectacular and confusing. He was looking at her as if he knew her. Not casually, but intimately. When he was looking into her eyes, Lily felt as if she was trapped in the gaze of a very good friend... or lover.

Lily and Scorpius sat in silence for a few minutes after their stare broke. When Lily looked at his face once more, she was shocked to see that his cheeks were tinged pink.

Scorpius cleared his throat, meeting her brown eyes with his gray ones once again. "I had the strangest dream last night."


End file.
